Declining Grace
by SassyAngel05
Summary: Shawn feels like nothing will ever be normal and he explodes under the pressure.Delainia Grace blows into his life and suddenly everything changes.Focuses mainly on Shawn and my character,but Maia, Richard and Lily and other 4400 will be in it.SOC, RL
1. Default Chapter

Title: Declining Grace

Author: Sassy

Rating: PG to PG-13ish

Pairing: Shawn/OC, some Richard/Lily and Danny/Nikki undertones

Disclaimer: I don't own the 4400 or the characters, except for the ones you don't recognize.

Summary: This story mostly focuses on Shawn and my character Delainia, especially the first chapter.  After that, other members of the 4400 will appear, including Maia, Richard, and Lily.  Shawn feels like nothing will ever be normal and he explodes under the pressure.  Delainia Grace blows into his life and suddenly everything changes.

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter One_**

**_Stares_**

****

            Shawn Farrell sunk down into his desk chair in his English 12 British Literature class.  He had felt eyes on him all hour and he hated it.  He hated being a freak.  He hated having everyone stare at him, wondering when he'd turn green and start talking in another language.  He hated waiting for it.  He looked down at his notes but noticed there wasn't really anything written on the page.  He had just scribbled lines and swirls on the paper.  Knowing the kids in his class, if they saw it, they would think he was writing in an alien language.  In truth, he just didn't care about school anymore.  It all seemed so useless.  He still could see the school like he had never left it.  He remembered being popular, with friends, a girlfriend.  He had had the normal stresses of senior year, worrying about colleges and majors and scholarships.  Now, three years later, he was still a senior in high school, but none of that stuff mattered anymore.  He didn't care if he went to college.  They would find out he was just one of the 4400 freaks and he'd be tormented again.  It wasn't that he cared so much about being made fun of.  He didn't really care.  It was wondering what had happened to him in his lost three years.  He didn't even feel any different from what he used to be.  But it was so very obvious that he was different.  He was in the same grade as his little brother.  He was the same age as his little brother, except his birth certificate said differently.  It said he was 20.  He was 17.  And he had that pesky new power thing, whatever that was.  He could heal things?  He could kill them?  What was it?  How did he control it?  How did he get it?  Shawn sighed and dropped the pen on his notebook, not even caring if he looked like he was interested.  The teacher wouldn't even notice.  The teacher wouldn't ever look him in the eye.  Shawn felt anger boiling up inside of him, frustration at his situation, pain at what he had lost, and anger at never getting a moment's peace from prying eyes.  He turned around abruptly, ready to glare angrily at the person who was staring at him, but found someone he didn't recognize.  It was a girl, her hair raven black and her eyes a sparkling green.  Even though he didn't recognize her, didn't mean he didn't know her.  She had probably grown up a lot from the fourteen-year-old girl, like Nikki had, and he just couldn't place the face.  She smiled at him shyly.  Shawn turned back around, facing the blackboard.  Did she think it was funny to stare at him?  He wasn't a sideshow circus freak.  She had no right to invade his privacy and brain this way.  Shawn slammed his notebook shut and sunk deeper down into his chair, seething deep inside.

            As the class ended, Shawn had had an appropriate amount of time to boil in his own frustration and anger.  He was ready to confront the girl about staring.  It had made him self-conscious again and he despised that feeling.  She was lingering at the back of the class, her books filling her arms.  Shawn waited until the rest of the class had left before walking up to her.  She saw him approach and smiled brightly at him.

"Hi."

"Do you think it's funny staring at me?  I mean, were you looking to see if I'd suddenly sprout antennae or if my skin color would turn into a nice lime green and the rest of my body would shrink?"

She seemed almost taken aback at his harsh words, but he didn't care.  She deserved every bit of it.  He was so tired of letting it all roll of him like raindrops. 

"What are you talking about?"

"So I don't know where I've been for the last 3 years.  That doesn't mean I'm an alien.  None of us have turned into one yet.  I'm just as normal as you are, just a little behind in the times."

She started to walk backwards, as if she were almost scared of him.  She dropped a couple of books on her way back, a pencil dropping in front of them like a gauntlet.

"I-"

"You shouldn't stare.  If you're plotting your revenge against us freaks, you should do it without making it obvious." 

"I wasn't staring."  
"Yeah, you were.  I'm glad we could be a spectacle for you."

"You keep saying we and us.  What, do you have multiple personalities or something?"

"You'd love to tell that to the reporters, wouldn't you?  4400 Returnee Stricken with Insanity."

"You're a 4400?"  Her eyes had widened with interest and surprise.  That only served to anger him more.  How dare she act surprised!  The entire school knew about it.  What made him even more upset was that he found himself staring into her emerald eyes and was almost attracted to her.  If it had been three years ago, he would have been.  
"Don't act surprised.  The whole school knows.  When I disappeared three years ago, everyone knew I was gone.  And they know I returned with the 4400."

"I am surprised.  I didn't know."

"You were staring at me."

A bit of pink colored her cheeks as she bent down to retrieve her fallen books.  She tossed her black hair over her shoulder, but remained intently interested in the tiled floor.

"I was staring at you because I thought you were cute."

He paused, thrown off course by that answer.  He hadn't expected that.

"What?"

"I'm new here.  I don't know anyone and I was having a miserable day.  Then I got to fourth hour British Lit and saw this really cute guy in the seat three chairs in front of me.  I was beginning to think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but apparently, while you're hot, you've got a frightful personality."

He noticed a bit of an accent at that moment.  It sounded almost British, but she hid it well.  He started to feel guilty for attacking her so thoroughly.  He'd been truly cruel to her because he'd been so angry with her. 

"You really didn't know I was a 4400?"

"No.  I really didn't."

She pushed her books into her messenger bag, but her arms remained full.  She had to catch up to the high school's work since she had transferred in.  He remembered having to catch up, but the teachers had been easy on him.  Probably because of what he'd been through.

"Listen, I'm sorry.  I'm just so used to having everyone on me about being one, I assumed you knew.  I just thought I hadn't seen you around since I came back here."

"Yeah, whatever.  I'm going to be late to class."

She turned and started to leave the class.  Shawn knew he had to stop her.

"I really am sorry."

"I know you are."

"My name's Shawn, by the way.  Shawn Farrell."

She left without another word.  The only person in the entire school that didn't know him or his story and he had alienated her-no pun intended.  He reached down for his backpack and slipped it on.  He noticed Mr. Taylor in the background, watching him suspiciously.

"Mr. Taylor, the new girl, what's her name?"

"Delainia Grace."

Shawn sighed and left the class as the warning bell rang.  Yeah, he was going to be late to class.  But if he had any luck, which was debatable, Delainia Grace would be in his next class.

            Delainia didn't end up being in his fifth hour, but she did end up in his sixth hour.  He had been sitting in his French class as the teacher began her welcome to the class.  At that moment, Delainia came stumbling in, as clumsily as she had left him, her hair blocking her face.    
"Je suis desolee, Mademoiselle Ambrose.  I couldn't find the class and I ended up at the other end of the school thinking I was going in the right direction."

"And you are?"

"Delainia Grace, I'm new."

"I see that.  Go ahead and take a seat.  I was just about to start class, so you didn't miss anything, Miss Grace.  But tardiness isn't acceptable."  
"No, it isn't.  I apologize."

Delainia scanned the room but instead of finding an empty seat she found Shawn.  Her face darkened considerably as she moved to the chair two seats beside him.  Her heart fluttered much to her dismay.  Shawn was hot and nothing would change that, but he had been so mean to her. She wouldn't accept treatment like that.  But a small voice inside of her told her to forgive him.  He had been through a lot if he was one of the 4400.  Everyone had heard about them.  Abductees from fifty or more years ago returning to Earth in a large ball of light with no memory of what had happened.  They didn't age.  For all she knew, Shawn had been abducted in the 1940's.  Or he could have been abducted a year ago.  No matter what, the psychological affect would be immense.  But she refused to accept his cruelty.  He had been freaking out for no reason.  Sure, it wasn't polite to stare, but it had been harmless and he had blown it way out of proportion.  She blew a strand of her silky black hair out of her eyes and pulled out the spiral she had chosen for this class to begin the assignment Mademoiselle Ambrose had put on the board.  She would have to work to catch up, even though she'd been a master of the French language at her old school.  She still had to make up a few assignments here.  She felt several eyes on her and she wondered if that was what Shawn had felt like when she'd stared at him.  She looked up to see a girl watching her, along with Shawn and two other boys.  Who were they?  She smiled sweetly at them before going back to her work.

            Shawn couldn't believe that she was in another class and it was their last class of the day.  He could explain his reaction and apologize again for what he had done.  He had become so involved in his anger and sudden status as a loner that he had completely misread her stare.  Was he that out of touch that he didn't even know when a girl was checking him out?  He guessed that it was because he couldn't see anyone doing that.  They all knew what he was.  Shawn studied Delainia while he chewed on the tip of his pen.  She was beautiful.  She had milky white skin that seemed exotic with her black hair and green eyes.  She kind of had a whole Snow White feel to her.  She seemed completely enthralled in the exercises that Miss Ambrose had given them, so apparently she liked schoolwork.  Or the distraction.  She seemed to be having no problem with them, either, so she was probably smart.  At least at French.  She seemed to have something more to her than that, but he couldn't quite place it.  It was almost like she had a secret, but he couldn't imagine what it was.  No one could.  He had almost put himself into a trance staring at her and before he knew it, class was over.  He hurried to his feet and tried to corner her in the aisle.  He ignored Danny and Nikki's presence as he spoke, "Delainia, I'm glad I saw you again today."

She didn't look at him.  She knew who had stopped her.

"Am I allowed to look up to see you or am I plotting your end by staring daggers at you for being a freak?"

She had a sharp tongue, apparently, as well.

"I deserved that, I know."  
"Yeah, you did."

"You know, you're the first person who hasn't treated me like I am a freak or tried to treat me like I'm going to break if they say something I don't want to hear."  
"Well, I'm ecstatic.  But the last I knew, I was treating you like a freak.  And if that's what you want, I can give it to you."  
"No, it's not.  I wanted to say I was sorry again for totally breaking down in fourth hour."  
"Yeah, I heard you the first time.  Now would you please move?  I have a little sister to get home to."

Shawn allowed her to pass and he watched her leave.  She walked confidently, as if she didn't care what other people thought.  He wished he could claim the same thing.  Danny and Nikki approached him.

"What was that, man?"

"Nothing, Danny."

"She seemed mad at you.  Why would she be mad at you?"  Nikki questioned carefully.  Shawn stared down at his backpack, unable to look her in the eyes.  He hadn't been able to look at her since they had kissed in the garage after he had-healed her?  That thought was a little to Roswellian for him.  But he and his brother's girlfriend had kissed and he knew he shouldn't have done it.  He had just been so lonely and Nikki was the only one who would give him a chance.  So he had kissed her and now he regretted it.  Still, he didn't know what to do.  Apologize?  Ignore it?  While he figured it out, he remained painfully awkward around her.  Luckily, Danny hadn't noticed.

"I sort of yelled at her earlier.  She's in my British Lit class and I thought she was staring at me because I'm a 4400.  Turns out she didn't even know.  Because she's new.  But I didn't realize that until after I yelled at her."

"You didn't recognize that she was new?'  
"Well, I've only been back for a month now, Danny, so I thought maybe I just hadn't noticed her."  
"You hadn't noticed _her_?"  Nikki shot Danny a look who simply smiled at her in return.

"I've been a little preoccupied, okay?'  
"Whatever, man."  Danny took Nikki's hand and they started walking in the direction of the parking lot with Shawn lagging behind.


	2. Maia

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter Two_**

**_Maia's Way_**

            Delainia hurried inside her house.  She was running late.  She had expected to be home before Kaleen arrived, but Shawn had set her back.  Shawn.  He was so infuriating and she'd only had two delightful conversations with him.  She understood that it was hard to acclimate into society again.  But she was so sick of seeing these maladjusted 4400 returnees taking everything out on regular people.  They had had a hard time of it, she knew, possibly better than most.  Still, that didn't give Shawn a right to be cruel to her.  She wondered if part of her anger was that Shawn had caught her staring at him.  She had been slightly mortified when he had approached her due to his noticing.  She slammed the door behind her and her little sister came running in.  Her black hair flew behind her, but she had blue eyes, like their mother's. 

"Laini!"  She flung herself into Delainia's arms and she picked Kaleen up with a tight hug.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it home before you did, Sweets.  I tried, too, but I was stopped."

"By a boy?"  
Delainia offered a bright smile before putting her back down to the floor.

"What makes you ask that?"  
"Well, you're so pretty, Laini, that I thought a boy might stop you."

She ruffled Kaleen's hair and then knelt down to Kaleen's level.  She wouldn't answer Kaleen's question; that would only fuel her sister's rampant imagination.

"How was school, Kaleen?"

"Okay.  I don't like being new very much.  People stare."

Her accent was more obvious than Delainia's.  Delainia was a good actress, able to hide her British tone, but Kaleen sounded like she'd been raised in lower London.  They had been, close to it, until they had moved to New York.  After their father's return, they had had to leave to avoid the stares.  
"Yes, they do.  But you know what?   You should just stare back and smile at them."  
"I did.  I made one friend."  
"That's wonderful."  
"Her name is Maia.  She's only been going to school for three days."

"Well, there now.  You and she can get used to third grade together."

Kaleen smiled and nodded at her, her bangs falling into her eyes.  Delainia pushed the bangs out of her eyes.  
"We need to get you a haircut."  
Kaleen ignored Delainia's comment in a way that only sisters could. 

"Maia doesn't have a mum, either.  Or a daddy.  She lives with a woman named Diana."

"Diana?"

"Mhm.  Her mum and daddy died, but she says that she'll be able to live with Diana for a long time, even if she doesn't know it."

Delainia thought the comment was a bit odd, but didn't say anything about Diana and Maia's living situation. 

"That's sad, Sweetheart.  Speaking of daddies, how is ours?"

A pained expression hit Kaleen and Delainia immediately regretted bringing their father up.  Patrick Grace was hardly a good topic between the sisters.  Kaleen had grown up her eight years without her father.  Kaleen had never known him.  Patrick had disappeared before her mother had even gotten to tell him about Kaleen.  Coral Grace had been a strong woman and had raised both her daughters as best she could while her husband remained missing.  When Kaleen was 7, Delainia had only been 16, and Coral had been diagnosed with Leukemia.  Three weeks later, Coral had died, leaving her daughters apparent orphans.  Delainia had immediately filed for emancipation and received it, then adopted her own sister to keep them together.  It was a great responsibility for a sixteen-year-old, but she had accepted it.  Then a year later, the 4400 had returned her father was back.  Unfortunately, only in body. 

"He doesn't even talk to me.  He was here when I got home, but he just stared at the TV.  Why doesn't he like me?"

"He just misses Mummy a lot."  
"I miss her, too, but I still talk."

Delainia walked into the living room with Kaleen tagging close behind.  Patrick looked up to see Delainia.

"Delainia, how was school?"

"It was lovely, Daddy.  I like Seattle.  It's nice here."  
"Your mother likes it, too, I think.  Do you know where she went?  I haven't seen her since this morning."

Delainia bit her lip and leaned forward to hug him. 

"No, Daddy, I haven't seen her."

Kaleen watched her sister and father with confused eyes.  He was always like this.   Patrick seemed to notice her, then, so Kaleen smiled brightly.  Laini had always told her to smile if he did look at her.

"Did you bring a friend home from school, Delainia?"

"No, Daddy, that's Kaleen.  She's my sister, remember?  Your daughter.  I introduced you two when you came back."

Patrick focused back on the TV and Delainia knew she had lost his attention.  That was the other thing.  As far as Patrick was concerned, Delainia was still the seven-year-old girl and her mother was still with them.  Patrick hadn't aged, so in his mind, none of the others had either.  Delainia turned to Kaleen with a sympathetic smile.  

"Do you have a lot of homework, Sweet?"

"Some make up stuff to catch me up.  Maia's behind, too, so she told me to come over."

"She didn't ask her guardian, so I don't know."  
"Maia said that Diana won't care when she does ask.  She wants Maia to have friends more than anything."

"How does Maia know that?"

"She knows everything, Laini."  
"I'm glad she's smart, Kaleen." 

Kaleen rolled her eyes before tugging on her arm.  "Pretty please!"

"I'll drive you over tonight."

Kaleen brightened and Delainia knew that it would have been impossible to say no.  Kaleen had been through so much for being so young.  There was no resisting her.

            Maia was perched on the bar stool in the kitchen, her feet dangling.  Diana tossed her keys on the entry table before hurrying into the kitchen.  She still held out hope that one of the kids would make friends with Maia.  The kids seemed to avoid her, as if they could tell she was special just by looking at her.  Who knew eight-year-olds were so judgmental?

"How was school, Maia?"

"I made a friend, Diana, so you don't have to worry anymore."

"I wasn't-"  Diana cut off, knowing it was useful to protest.  Maia seemed more peaceful at that moment, so Diana decided to cut her losses and just listen to her.

"What's her name?"

"Kaleen Grace.  She just moved her from London."  
"Wow."

"Actually, New York, but before that, it was London."  
"That's exciting."  
"She lives with her sister."  
"And her mother?"

"Died last year.  She didn't say anything about her dad, though."  
"But you know, don't you?"

Maia shrugged as if to dismiss the topic and Diana didn't push.  Maia may know, but she never told anything she thought she shouldn't.  Diana respected the boundaries that Maia seemed to have set, as long as it didn't hurt anyone.

"I asked her to come here tonight, Diana.  Is that okay?"

Diana paused.  She was hardly used to having one little girl in the house, much less two of them.  But how could she say no to Maia?  Maia was finally making friends.

"It is."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.  Diana raised her eyebrow at Maia before going to answer the door.  Maia offered a sparkling, charming smile as if proving her innocence.  Diana opened the door and found two girls, obviously sisters, standing on her doorstep.  Diana was surprised to see that the sister was so young.  She had expected someone in her twenties, not a teenager.  Diana didn't have much time to think about it because Maia peeked her head around and saw Kaleen.  The two seemed delighted to see each other, as if they both were desperate for the companionship.  The two adults seemed to realize how lonely the girls' lives had been at the same instant.  Maia looked up at Delainia and tilted her head.

"You have to forgive him.  He's so lost and sad.  You're going to help him through it."

Delainia seemed to be taken off guard as Diana observed her.

"Who do I have to forgive?"

Maia smiled at her.  "Shawn Farrell.  He's nice.  I knew him a long time ago."

Delainia's eyes widened.  "You're a-"

Maia took Kaleen's arm and tugged her in the direction of her new bedroom.  Delainia watched her go before turning to Diana.  
"She's a 4400?"  
Diana seemed shocked at Delainia's deduction.  How could she have come to that conclusion so quickly?  And how did this girl know Tom's nephew?

"Let me introduce myself first.  I'm Diana Skouris."

"I'm sorry.  I'm Delainia Grace."

"You don't sound British."  
"I hide it pretty well.  It makes me seem inconspicuous without the accent.  Kaleen doesn't hide it so well.  Now is Maia a 4400?"

"Does it matter?"  Diana felt a surge of protectiveness of Maia. That little girl had been hurt so many times, she couldn't let it happen again.  
"No, not really.  But how did she know about my fight with Shawn Farrell today?  How does she even know Shawn if she's not a 4400?"

"How do you know Shawn?"  Diana's defenses were up.  There was something suspicious about this girl. 

"He's in a couple classes at my school.  We had a bit of an argument today.  That's how I found out he was one.  And if Maia knows him…"

"Shawn is my partner's nephew."

"Your partner?"

"Tom Baldwin.  We work for Homeland Security."  
"That blasted organization?"  Delainia flushed as the accent came out more strongly. 

"How do you know us?"

"My father is one.  Patrick Grace.  He disappeared in 1995, before Kaleen was born."

"That's why Maia didn't talk about your father.  She told me about your mother, but not him."

"Must be.  How does she know, Ms. Skouris?"

"Maia is clairvoyant.  That must be how she knew about your fight.  We try to keep Maia's real identity a secret.  I don't even know if Kaleen knows about it.  She might.  Maia has trouble making friends because she tells them what's going to happen."

Delainia felt a twinge of sorrow as she thought of Shawn.  Was it as hard for him to make friends as it was for Maia?  He had stayed with those other two, a girl and guy, so he had friends.  Unlike this poor little girl.

"That's a pity about Maia.  She seems like a sweet girl.  Maybe she and Kaleen will do each other some good."  
"I certainly hope so.  Maybe that's why they found each other.  They knew they had a connection."

"Maybe."  Delainia sighed.  Now she was lost in these thoughts of Shawn and her father and Maia and the others.  She hated it when she started thinking about the 4400, where they've been, why they were back.  She couldn't ever turn these thoughts off, once she got started.  She'd never be able to focus on her homework.

"I'll pick her up in a couple hours, if that's okay, Ms. Skouris."

"I'll drop her off.  That only seems fair.  And if you don't mind my saying, you look like your probably have your own homework to work on."

"I do.  First day of my senior year here.  Got stuff to do."

"I'll bring her home by nine."

"Great.  Thank you."

Diana smiled at her, no longer feeling suspicious.  She was obviously just a girl under a lot of pressure and laden with responsibility.  Diana watched her leave before shutting the door.  She listened to the quiet of the house, and then two girlish giggles.


	3. Tentative

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter Three_**

**_Tentative_**

****

Delainia Grace remained seated in her British Literature class without making eye contact with Shawn Farrell. Her recent attraction seemed to have vanished into thin air, replaced by her aversion****to him after actually conversing with the boy. She didn't feel any animosity towards him. In fact, she understood him better than he realized. She even understood his reaction to her staring. The 4400's situation was abysmal to say the least. Disappearing without a trace and then returning to the world in a big ball of light with no memory of where they had been, no days seeming to have passed for them, put each member into an impossible situation it seemed. They were forced to face prejudices never even imagined before. It was as if the public expected the 4400 to be granted amnesty for their abduction before the public would accept them, despite the fact that not a single member of the 4400 had committed a crime. Not that the public cared about that. Delainia's mind continued to wander on to her own father. The poor man, half-insane since his return, was declining steadily. He had returned from wherever it was the 4400 had been to find the entire world had changed in the nine years he'd been disappeared. He had found that his wife was dead, one daughter almost completely grown up, and another daughter he hadn't even known about before his abduction. It was difficult to even broach the subject of Kaleen Grace with her father. Delainia's heart clenched at the thought of her baby sister. Kaleen was so altruistic; she deserved a better life than she had. As a result of her life, Kaleen was austere for an eight-year old girl, so wise beyond her years. Delainia imagined that came with having a father disappear before she was born, a mother dying when Kaleen was just seven, and having her older sister raise her. Kaleen adjusted as best she could and tried to never begrudge her friend's normal lives. Delainia actually admired Kaleen. The only other child that seemed to understand where Kaleen was coming from was little Maia Rutledge, another 4400. The eight-year-old Maia's manner was always benign, even when someone was cruel to her, but there was also something odd underlying in the child's words. Her guardian, Diana Skouris, had tried to chalk it up to normal childhood awkwardness, but Delainia had the idea that it was more than that. Delainia released the breath she had been unknowingly holding to clear her mind. If she continued to think about the 4400, she feared her head would implode. Delainia sunk down into her chair as she felt sharp eyes on her. Shawn was chancing a glance at her and it made Delainia want to absolve him for verbally attacking her. She had managed to avoid him all day, just so she could continue feeling angry with him. It was nice having someone real to blame for her life's problems. And Shawn Farrell was the perfect candidate for that.

Shawn Farrell wished he sat in the back row. He would be able to remain undetectable to all, plus he would be able to get the perfect view of the mysterious and fiery Delainia. She could stare at him from where she sat, but he had to fully turn around to even see her. He ran his hands through his short brown hair as he remembered what a buffoon he had been the other day. Her words still echoed in his head, "_I'm new here. I don't know anyone and I was having a miserable day. Then I got to fourth hour British Lit and saw this really cute guy in the seat three chairs in front of me. I was beginning to think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but apparently, while you're hot, you've got a frightful personality._

_"Am I allowed to look up to see you or am I plotting your end by staring daggers at you for being a freak?_

_"....But the last I knew, I was treating you like a freak. And if that's what you want, I can give it to you."_

Shawn lowered his head into his hands. The conversations he had had with her, only two, were always on his mind. The minute she had said that she wasn't looking at him because he was a freak, he had noticed the sadness in her voice. He had suddenly felt a strong****affinity for her. She almost seemed like she knew what he meant, like she understood his problems, like she already knew them. That only further ignited his interest in her, but it was too late for him. She was already angry and he had the feeling that convincing her to forgive him would be quite arduous. He was up to the task, though. It wasn't like he had a busy social life due to his status as a 4400. He wished so desperately that he could just disappear from this life, not in the way he had as a 4400, but start a new life somewhere. Someplace that he wasn't labeled as a 4400 freak. The cursed question of why he was taken arose again. His cousin Kyle had been with him. Why was Kyle stuck in the coma while he had been taken from the beach that night? Shawn shifted in his seat uncomfortably, trying to push the question that would likely never get answered away. The only way he knew how to do that was by looking at Delainia. He turned around and locked eyes with her for a moment. Her emerald eyes fairly sparkled, but was quickly blocked by that raven section of hair that always seemed to be falling in her eyes. He didn't miss the hurt in her eyes and he wondered briefly what caused it. But her eyes were lowered at her paper again and Shawn realized they were doing an assignment. He had to focus. He leaned over the worksheet, pen poised to write. At least he would look like he was working.

Shawn tried to corner Delainia in Lit class, but she moved to the door with amazing speed. He'd never seen anyone walk away from him so quickly. It wasn't that she hadn't noticed him. She had. In fact, she had stared at him for a moment, as if debating whether to speak to him or not, but she apparently decided on the not side of that debate. Shawn rushed after her, but she slipped away before he even got around the corner. He decided he would wait for her before sixth hour, out in the hall. She wouldn't be able to run from him, then. She would have to enter the class eventually, and Mademoiselle Ambrose would not accept her tardiness. So he waited faithfully be the door for her to make an appearance. She did, her head buried in her messenger bag as she fished around for her French book. She bumped into him and her eyes showed her surprise.  
"Sorry."

"Delainia, wait, I was wanting to talk to you."

"I don't talk to freaks, Shawn." Her voice was tinged with irony. Shawn cringed at her words, but wouldn't surrender this. He had to apologize.

"You have to listen to me."  
"Or what? You'll use some creepy alien power to force me to. Maybe some brainwashing or telepathy?"

Shawn almost laughed, but he knew that wasn't what he should do. Delainia didn't even know how close to the truth she was. He could use his creepy alien power on her. Sucking the life out of her was one to get her to listen. Of course, he didn't even know how it worked, so he wasn't going to be able to use it for his bidding. He wouldn't, anyway. He could always heal her, as well, if something did happen that he didn't intend. He did know how that power worked. He just has to want to heal something and he did.

"Delainia, I wanted to apologize for yelling at you. I'm under a lot of stress and while I understand you being mad, it is kind of time to get over it."  
"Oh, what an apology."

Delainia tried to push past him, but Shawn was much stronger than she was. He gripped her arm and captured her eyes.

"Okay. That wasn't exactly my best work. But I need you to understand something. It's been bad since I've been back. My brother, Danny, has been treating me just like everyone else. He's been looking up information about the 4400 so he can figure out how to contain me and my 'powers', whatever he means by that. Danny and I used to be close, but my abduction seemed to have ended that. My mom likes to pretend like nothing's changed, that I'm not a 20-year-old, still thinking and feeling like I'm 17. My best friend and cousin is in a coma and my uncle Tommy blames me for it, because Kyle was with me the night he fell into the coma, the same day I was taken. Everyone else either stares at me or vandalizes my stuff to get the point across that I no longer fit in. And the only person that will talk to me is my brother's girlfriend, Nikki. I've lost all sense of normalcy and I've taken to overreaction because of it. I'm sorry, Delainia."

Delainia paused, resisting the urge to acquiesce****to his plea for forgiveness after an apology like that. He had really opened up to her. His life sounded horrible at the moment, but at least it hadn't been an almost permanent thing. His was new. Hers had been since her father had disappeared. Everyone was so focused on how the return was affecting the actual members of the 4400. What about their families? She had just adjusted to life being her sister and she, and then suddenly she had her father to worry about too. Sometimes she wondered if it would have been better if the 4400 had never returned. She wondered if Shawn thought the same thing. No. She cursed herself silently. She would not feel any sympathy towards him.

"I hope that you decided to abridge that sob story, Shawn, because I don't know how much longer I could have listened to it."

Shawn had opened up to someone and now he regretted it. She obviously didn't care. Maybe he shouldn't complain so much. There had to be a reason for the sadness behind her eyes. Maybe there was something worse going with her that he didn't know about. Shawn stepped away from the door to allow her to pass. She wouldn't listen to him. He wouldn't bother to tell her again.

"Listen, that was mean. I know it. It seems we bring out the worst in each other," Delainia conceded.  
"There must be a reason for that."  
"We're both self-pitying losers?"

"That could be it."

The corners of Delainia's lips turned up slightly as she walked by Shawn. She didn't have the energy to stay angry with him. It was pointless, anyway. Shawn followed her in the room, feeling relieved. Delainia's anger was one less thing he had to worry about. Maybe he'd even end up being friends with her. At least they had a tentative friendship.

Delainia pulled out the cookies from the refrigerator and took a seat at the kitchen table. Her father had gotten up from the recliner to follow her in the kitchen.

"Do you want some cookies, Daddy?"

"Yes, Delainia. You know, that name always sounded too big for my little girl, but your mother always insists that we call you that. Coral loves your name, doesn't she?"

"She did, Daddy. She did."

Delainia pulled some cookies out of the package and stacked them on a napkin, then slid it to Patrick Grace. Patrick was an attractive man, with Delainia's same green eyes, but blond hair that none of the children had inherited. He looked completely normal at first glance, but after a person started talking to him, it was obvious that he wasn't.

"Where is Coral, Sweetheart? I didn't see her this morning and she always says good-bye before she leaves the house."  
"Mum hasn't been here for a while, Daddy. Remember? I told you she died, a year and a half ago."

"That's not funny, Delainia. I asked you a serious question."

Delainia resisted the urge to cry at the scolding. Her father was so lost; it hurt her. She was about to reply when the front door slammed.

"Laini! Laini! Guess what?"

Kaleen Grace bounded into the kitchen, black hair swinging in the ponytail Delainia had put in her hair. Maia Rutledge followed her more calmly, her dirty blond hair styled the same way as Kaleen's. Her face was peaceful, unlike Kaleen's excited one.

"What, Sweets? Hello, Maia."  
Maia smiled her hello. Kaleen stopped and stood rigidly as she saw her father in the corner of the kitchen. She sent an embarrassed glance at Maia before continuing her story, all excitement wiped from her face again. It broke Delainia's heart to see her sister return to the serious child she typically was. Kaleen was so rarely excited any more; it had been a nice change.

"Maia and I got invited to a birthday party! To someone else's birthday party!"

"That's wonderful, Kaleen. I'm happy for you. You too, Maia."

Maia stepped forward, a peculiar look on her face. She reached for Delainia's hand and squeezed it.

"It's good that you and Shawn made up. Now you can really help him, like I told you to."

The familiar chill ran through Delainia at Maia's words. Talk about creepy alien powers. Maia's seeming precognition was enough to wig anyone out.

"Well, we aren't friends, Maia."  
"You will be."

"Oh, will we?" Delainia asked, trying to keep the grin off her face. These two little girls always made her want to smile.

"Mhm."

Delainia pulled Maia into a hug, then Kaleen. The little girls tugged her heartstrings every time she saw them. Typically glued at the hip, with no other friends, she hoped they would make more friends. And the birthday party seemed like a start.

"You don't seem very excited about the birthday party, Miss Maia."

Maia shot her a small, sad smile that said much more than any words she could have spoken. Their eyes locked and Delainia knew. Kaleen was going to be gravely disappointed and Delainia was going to have to pick up the pieces of that girl's broken heart again.

"Did I know you were coming over, Maia?"

"No. But you won't mind."  
"I don't. Does Ms. Skouris know you're here?"  
"Diana is still at work. Homeland Security is a demanding job for her."

"But she doesn't know you're here. We should probably call her."  
"All right."

"First, though, I'll introduce you to our father. Daddy, this is Kaleen's friend, Maia."

Patrick stared at the girls, but didn't see them. Not really.

"Are you talking to your imaginary friends, Delainia? Aren't you getting a bit too old for those?"

Delainia didn't bother to answer. She turned back to her embarrassed sister. Kaleen looked down at her shoes, but explained apologetically the situation.

"Daddy doesn't know me or remember that I was born. He likes to pretend like it's still 9 years ago since he was doesn't remember that time has passed. He's a 4400 like you, Maia."  
Maia took her friend's hand and nodded understandingly.

"He will remember. He will be okay. You just have to wait."

Delainia felt almost relieved at those words. Maia was never wrong in her premonitions. She always hit it on the nail. She was one intelligent and special little girl. Kaleen seemed to realize that as well. She nearly grinned, which was good to see.

"Laini, can we have some cookies or are you gonna eat them all?"

"I'll share with you both. And then we'll call Ms. Skouris."

"Yes. We will." Maia said while Delainia distributed the cookies. She climbed into a chair in between Delainia and Kaleen, and all three Graces and Maia munched quietly on the food.


	4. Dossiers

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter Four_**

**_Dossiers_**

****

The Homeland Security office building was absolutely buzzing with activity with the exception of Director Dennis Ryland's sparsely decorated office. Dennis sat in his black leather desk chair, hands shaped into a steeple while he leaned on his glass-topped desk to scan over the two agents in his office. Diana Skouris and Tom Baldwin were his best agents in the agency without a doubt. He had worried only slightly when he had partnered them. They were like oil and water; Diana with her caustic remarks and Tom with his seasoned, know-it-all attitude. Dennis had wondered if they would ever get along. Still, Dennis had been positive that the two would make a great team since Diana had a strong scientific background and Tom had the field experience. Their personalities seemed to coalesce over time as they spent more time together. Now, they seemed to almost compliment each other with the variety in their attitudes. The pair sat in deference on the poorly designed couch as Dennis talked about the latest 4400 trouble.

"This case involving the 4400 is particularly odd. I hate to sound callous about this case, but this guy has been moving across the country. He even crossed the Atlantic."

Dennis paused for the dramatic affect he wanted as he debated whether or not to explain the case right at that moment or wait until the accepted the assignment. They might not accept it since the mission would require some major traveling, and it was need-to-know. Diana might not want to leave Maia behind, when the little girl was adapting to her new life. Plus, Maia would be left at the mercy of the Homeland Security doctors who wanted nothing more than to study the clairvoyant. Tom wouldn't want to leave Kyle's bedside, understandably. Tom rarely left Kyle's bedside since the night his son fell into the coma. He had only torn himself away when his nephew, Shawn Farrell, had returned.

"You both have dealt with the 4400 anomalies: Carl Morrissey, Orson Bailey - Maia Rutledge." Dennis continued.

Diana's face flashed with indignation at the mention of Maia being clumped in with the other anomalies. Maia was gifted. She wasn't an oddity.

"Now, Diana, I didn't mean that in an offensive way. Maia Rutledge is special. That's what inspired you to take Maia in the first place. But you and I aren't going to debate Maia's worth, because I have no doubt of it.

"Also, your experiences with Maia and Shawn will make you handle this situation more delicately. Both of you fit the criterion to take this case; the clearance, the experience, and most importantly, the relationships."

Tom sighed loudly and folded his arms across his chest. All these various gifts that seemed to be popping up amongst the 4400 worried Tom. What if Shawn came up with one of these odd powers? Tom flashed back to Shawn's welcome home party when Shawn had cradled the seemingly dead bird in his hands and saw it come back to life as it flew away. Tom was sure that bird had died. The neck had been broken. Had Shawn healed it? Was that what had happened? Did Shawn have a power? Tom had the sinking feeling that he had been able to delude himself on the reason that bird had flown away alive from the crash with the window. He sighed loudly to rid himself of all his troubling thoughts. He couldn't keep wondering about his nephew. That was why they were estranged now. He had to stop second-guessing Shawn. And he had to focus on what Dennis and Diana were saying.

"That sigh Tom just gave you was his way of thanking you for your candor. You're right about Tom and I being qualified for this case and we'll be happy to take it. Isn't that right, Tom?" Diana asked it with a coy smile on her face. Tom couldn't resist returning the smile as he nodded.

"That was exactly the reason I sighed. I wanted you to know I appreciate your candor."

Dennis rolled his eyes and bit back his laughter. He really couldn't encourage the two. They were in a serious business meeting and the light-hearted, joking tone the meeting had taken wouldn't be acceptable for what he was about to tell them.

"All right. Since you both have so gracefully accepted this job…" Dennis hesitated and smiled at them slightly before he continued. "I'll go ahead and fill you in on the details. A series of kidnappings have occurred in two different states and in lower London as well, making this an international case. We have several eyewitnesses that have delineated what they saw when several women disappeared. There certainly wasn't a dearth of witnesses in this instance, which makes the case even more odd. We're not quite sure how the perpetrator has gotten away with so many witnesses."

"What do the kidnappings have to do with the 4400?" Diana asked immediately.

"They started the day after the 4400 were let out of quarantine."

"And no one made the connection until now?" Tom said.

"Well, not really. The police suspected, but with this becoming an international case, they were asked to give it over to us. It's our investigation now. Anyway, all the women have had blue eyes, brown hair, about 5' 7", and are around the age of 33."

Diana cocked her head. "Why the specific targets?"

"We're not sure. But the even more odd thing about this case is that all the victims were taken in broad daylight in the middle of busy places. The first three taken were in New York, and then two in London, and then one here in Seattle. So whoever it is has moved around quite a bit. This assignment is going to require you to travel more than usual."  
"But Maia -"

"We can find a place for Maia to stay, Diana. Doesn't she have any friends or someone to stay with?"

"Maybe her friend, Kaleen." Diana said it thoughtfully.

"Now all the witness' stories are more or less the same. I want you to travel to New York and corroborate the stories of the witnesses there. We have some agents working in London already. You'll come back here and compare notes with the ones in England."

The two nodded dutifully as Dennis handed them three dossiers each. He opened his own and lifted the pictures from all three files and explained quietly.

"We have narrowed down the suspects to these three: Tristan Bree, Patrick Grace, and Jensen Longtree. All have been in the area of the disappearances at the time they occurred and match the description we've been given."

Diana's scanned over the Patrick Grace dossier and wasn't too shocked to find that he had two daughters listed. Delainia and Kaleen Grace. Those poor girls. Now she understood the sadness behind Maia's little friend's eyes. Her father could possibly be behind these abductions. And if he was abducting women, who knew what was happening to the girls.

"Any questions? Good. You'll be leaving tonight."

Dennis looked away from them as he began to study some papers on his desk. The partners knew they had been dismissed. They exited the office quietly as they were each lost in their retrospective thoughts.

He was tired of waiting for her to come home. She'd been avoiding him for three days now and he didn't appreciate it at all. He was sure that her choice to avoid him would end if he would go look for her. They had always been able to talk out their problems, but she seemed intent on playing this ridiculous game of hard-to-get. He was sorry that he had been late to dinner. He had been working late and lost track of time. He wanted to make it up to her, but he couldn't do that if she wouldn't talk to him. He walked down the street in Seattle, the Space Needle almost directly ahead of him. He saw her, then, darting in between people in the crowd. He called to her, but she didn't even turn her head. This was ridiculous. He increased his pace as he began to dart in between people as well. He finally grabbed her arm. She looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling, and it warmed his heart.  
"I've been looking for you. I know you're mad, love, but I had to finish my assignment. Forgive me."  
"I don't know who it is you're talking about, Sir. I don't know you."

"Come on, love. Let's go home. Our daughter misses you as well."

"I don't know who you are. You have me mistaken for someone else."

"So you won't give up this game of yours. Fine."

He grasped her arm even tighter than before and began to jerk her towards the Space Needle. She tried to wriggle from his grip, but he wouldn't let her go. Not this time. She needed to know how sorry he was. He would take her to the Space Needle and wait until they make sure they made up before he took her home again. Their daughter shouldn't be put through the stress of hearing them fight.

"Darling, don't worry. I just want to talk to you. Don't keep fighting me."'

"I won't capitulate. I'm not who you think I am. Please, just let me go."

The man jerked her around so she was forced to look into his green eyes. She seemed to be completely enraptured in his gaze. They seemed very much the happy couple at that moment, gazing lovingly in each other's eyes. She smiled at him, then, a toothy grin.

"I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you, Sweetheart. I was just upset. You didn't even call to let me know you weren't come home. I was worried."'

"I'm sorry. I really am." He returned her smile and wrapped an arm around her. They continued to walk to the Space Needle with the appearance of a happy married couple.

Delainia slung her book bag over her shoulder and began to walk to the door. She hadn't spoken with Shawn for several days. Their tentative truce seemed to be working. He had smiled at her a few times, and did that whole guy nod thing that she had never quite understood. She had returned his smiles and continued to sneak shy glances at him. No matter what their history, he was still incredibly handsome. While the truce with Shawn was nice, Delainia hadn't made any other friends. No one else seemed interested in speaking to her. She didn't know why she was outcast. She was new and the high school already had its cliques. But the only one she seemed to fit in with was Shawn, his brother Danny and Nikki. Not that he had spoken to the latter. She was almost afraid to speak with them. No telling what Shawn had told them about her. She hated herself for her craven choice to avoid making any initial contact with anyone. She had to put herself out there to make friends. She decided, without much conviction, to talk to Nikki and Danny. She approached them nervously in the hallway. The trio was on their way out the door after sixth hour French, the last class of the day. She called out to them.  
"Shawn! Wait up!"

Shawn paused in surprise at the sound of his name. Not many people called him in the hall. In fact, pretty much only Danny and Nikki talked to him. And they were with him, so it wasn't them. He turned and saw Delainia hurrying towards them. He had never expected Delainia to be the one to call his name. They had been okay, since their talk in the hall last week, but they hadn't really become friends either. He wanted to be friends with her. She fascinated him. She was different than others at that cursed high school. She didn't even care that he was a 4400 - an abnormality in his life.

"Delainia? What's wrong?"

She glanced down at her feet, suddenly interested in the flowers that adorned her flip-flops. She shifted her weight from leg to leg in a way that made her look like she was almost doing some weird dance. Shawn reached out and put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Delainia, are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm right smashing."

Delainia's eyes widened at the sentence she'd just blurted out. With her accent. Her accent from Lower London. She was so good at covering it up, but when her nerves got to her, she tended to revert to her childhood way of speaking.

"You're British? I never even knew that. You've never sounded British before."

Delainia cleared her throat and squirmed away from Shawn's grip. She stood a good 12 paces away from the trio now, like she was ready to bolt down the corridor at any moment.

"I cover it up. You know, I'm already the new kid. I didn't want to be the new kid with the weird accent. It's not hard to cover it up. I just forget to, sometimes."

Shawn didn't understand her reasoning for covering up her accent. He liked it. But it was her prerogative.

"Okay. So what did you want?"

Delainia got that same petrified look on her face. She wasn't at all the spitfire she had been when she had been fighting with Shawn. She seemed fairly subdued, in fact.

"I just wanted to see if any of you guys got the assignment Mademoiselle Ambrose gave us. I totally spaced and-"

Shawn didn't believe her for a minute. Delainia was excellent in French and she always paid attention in class. He'd seen her taking notes. Shawn suddenly realized how lonely she must be. He hadn't ever seen her with anyone. At least he had Danny and Nikki. He felt an unexpected surge of sympathy for her. Maybe that was why she looked sad all the time. She wanted friends.

"Oh, I didn't get it. But did you get it, Nikki?"

The blond girl nodded and flipped her long hair over her shoulder. She pulled out a folder and handed it to Delainia.

"Yeah, I did. Hey. I'm Nikki Hudson. I'm Shawn's friend."  
"Delainia Grace."

"Yeah. I've seen you in French. You really speak it well. You always sound like you're actually French. Or at least what I think a French person would sound like. That's really cool."

"I'm going to have to agree with my girlfriend on this one, Delainia. Not that I disagree with her much. She's kind of scary when she gets mad."

Delainia blushed at the copious accolades the two had given her. She wasn't used to so much attention, especially not of late. She self-consciously tucked her black hair behind her ears. She really was rusty at this whole socializing thing. She spent most of her time with her little sister.

"Thanks."

"It's the truth. Oh, I'm Danny, by the way. Shawn's brother."

"Nice to meet you both."

Shawn smiled at her as she politely nodded at them. She started to write down what was on Nikki's paper, the page number and assignment numbers. She handed it back to Nikki. "Thank you so much for letting me use this."

"No problem. Hey, maybe we could study together for the test tomorrow. You obviously know a lot about French."

"I took it at my old school in London. We learned other languages earlier than in America. I've been taking French since I was twelve. The stuff we're doing in French now is just review for me."

"So, you'd totally be saving my life, and Shawn and Danny's if you could help us. We could study outside for awhile."

Delainia seemed torn. She obviously wanted to stay. All three could tell. But she shook her head reluctantly.

"I wish I could. But I take care of my little sister. She can't be home alone. In fact, I need to go now to beat her home."

"Well, we could study at your-"  
"No. We can't study at my house. We just can't. Thanks for inviting me to stay with you."

Delainia turned and ran down the steps as abruptly as she had come. Nikki raised her eyebrow at Shawn and Danny. "What was _that_?"  
"I don't know. I'm not the one who's had other conversations with her." Danny said smartly. Danny turned his gaze at Shawn and waited for his answer.

Shawn shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not sure. Something's up with her. I just don't know what it is. Maybe I can talk her into going out on Friday. I'll try tomorrow."

Delainia slammed the door, fighting back the tears that stung at her eyes. She couldn't cry, no matter how much she needed a catharsis. Her dad would see it and wonder why. And there was no way she could tell her half-insane father what was wrong, especially since he was part of the problem. She wiped at her eyes haphazardly and dropped her bag in the hall. She walked into the living room to find Kaleen sitting on the couch staring at her father with curious eyes.

"Hey, Sweets. How was school today?"

Kaleen bounced off the couch and went to give her sister a hug. Delainia returned the hug, comforted by her little sister's touch.

"Good. Maia and I were teamed up to do a book report together."

"What book?"  
"Maia says it's going to be _Hatchet_. The teacher hasn't told us yet."

"But Maia will be right."

"She always is."

"Is Maia coming over tonight?"  
"Yeah. Miss Skouris is on a business trip, so her baby-sitter is letting her come over for the night. We need to go get Drusilla something."

Delainia looked down at her sister questioningly. She didn't remember Kaleen mentioning a Drusilla. All Kaleen talked about was Maia.

"Who's Drusilla?"

"Laini!" Kaleen was obviously put off by the question.

"Kaleen!"

"Drusilla is the one that invited me to her birthday party. You remember?"  
"Oh. A birthday gift. The party's this Friday, isn't it?"

"Yep!"

"All right. Go get ready for the mall and for Maia to come."

Kaleen giggled delightedly and dashed off to her bedroom. Delainia smiled at her sister's sudden light-heartedness and turned away from the hall. Her father sat in the blue recliner, his feet propped up.

"How was your day, Daddy?"

"It was wonderful, my little Laini. I finally fixed some of my problems today."

Delainia wasn't quite sure what that sentence meant. She decided it was better not to ask. Instead, she leaned forward to kiss Patrick on the cheek.

"I'm glad, Daddy. You deserve a good day."


	5. Saturday

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter Five_**

**_Saturday_**

****

****

Delainia was sulking and she was well aware of that fact. She had absolutely no idea what had brought on her melancholy mood. Things at home weren't any different; worse or better. Kaleen seemed to be adjusting to the new school, especially since she'd been invited to that little girl's birthday party that was taking place the next night. Her father hadn't changed much at all. He still refused to accept that she had grown any older, that he had another daughter, and that his wife had been long dead by the time of his return. He seemed content to sit alone in the house, wondering why things were different. Delainia didn't have the energy or the time to fix her father's problems. She had enough responsibility completing her work and taking care of Kaleen. She already had no social life. She couldn't give anything more up without giving a piece of her soul with it. Still, that didn't seem to be what had caused her mood to dip into depression-land. Nothing new seemed to be happening that would cause it. Except for the invitation Nikki had given her to join their study group that she had turned down. Study groups were like the universal way of allowing someone into a clique. She would have been able to have some kind of friendship at school, even if she couldn't do anything outside of the campus with them. She would have some kind of regular contact with people her own age who were completely sane-well, somewhat sane-and it wouldn't all be about schoolwork. She would have friends, something she'd lost the day her father disappeared. Maybe that was the cause of the new outlook on life. Her father's return and the subsequent stress it put on her made her feel like she was trapped in a glass bowl that she couldn't swim her way out of. It was one thing to take care of Kaleen. She was an angel most of the time, and she didn't mind caring for her little sister. It was just too much to have to watch over a grown man as well. She couldn't stay with him all day, every day. She couldn't let his break from reality break her away from it. She had already been through plenty and she was seventeen. She wasn't wallowing in self-pity, though her thoughts really made that statement questionable. She was just remembering her life. Her mother had come to her one cold, rainy London evening and said her father wasn't coming home. Her father had disappeared. Coral had never said that Patrick had left them, deserted them, left them in the lurch. He had just disappeared. Now that Delainia thought about it, her mother had never given up hope that her father would return to her. In a way, it was heartbreaking. Her mother had never seen her faith come to life when Patrick had returned. In another way, it was a blessing that her mother didn't see the man her father had become. Delainia was grateful that her mother missed seeing the lost look in her father's emerald green eyes, but the pressure was a little too much for her. She just wanted to have a day off from pain and suffering. Delainia allowed a small smile to form on her face. She sounded like a soap opera in her head. She had to stop soaking up her own self-pity. She complained about not having a life, but going over her current one wasn't going to help the situation. Particularly since she had zoned out during the middle of completing her English worksheet. She bit on her bottom lip as she poised her pen over the paper again, ready to work. That's when she felt the eyes on her. She looked up and saw Shawn, who was almost turned around in his chair, his head propped up on his hand, staring at her. She started to smile self-consciously though the pleasure of catching him watching her showed on her face. Shawn glanced away quickly, but he brought his eyes back up to meet hers. And then he winked at her. Delainia nearly giggled like a schoolgirl. She did not giggle. She was not a giggler. At least she hadn't been, until now. Delainia shifted in her seat and turned her attention back onto the paper.

The bell's shrill ring brought Delainia out of her deeply concentrated state. She slid the paper into her folder, which went into her messenger bag. She was a little slow getting started; after all, she hated her next class. She wanted to avoid being there for as long as possible. Besides, she wanted to miss the mad rush in the hallways of everyone running to their next class. She stood up slowly and jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned around and saw Shawn standing there. He had an unusually easy smile on his face, wiping the tortured-artist-I'm-so-misunderstood look off of his face. She watched him with a bit of open fascination, which would have embarrassed her in most situations, but at the moment she seemed oblivious to the fact of what she was doing.  
"Hey. I didn't mean to scare you."  
Delainia shrugged carelessly as she lifted her purse off of her desk. She started to walk to the door, Shawn trailing behind her.

"It's not a big deal. I've kind of been living in Delainia-world today, so it's probably my fault that I startled so easily today. You could have been shouting my name and I would have missed it."

Shawn laughed at her joke as he tried to match her confident stride. The Delainia of yesterday, unsure and a little lonely, had disappeared and the secure, positive Delainia had returned. He liked both, to be honest, but he'd never admit that to her.

"I think I'd like to live in Delainia-world someday."

Delainia's eyebrows shot up amusedly and her lips quirked upwards.

"That sounded like a pick up line, Shawn. I'd work on it, though it is an improvement to 'stop staring at me for being a freak'."

Shawn shook his head and held up his hands in mock surrender. He then put his hands in his back pockets as he walked Delainia down the hall. They didn't have much time before class started, and Shawn was going out of his way to get Delainia to hers. Not that he had to walk her to her class, but he wanted to ask her to go out with him and Nikki and Danny before he lost the nerve. He'd seen her reaction to his staring in Literature. She seemed happy that he was watching her. Maybe she even liked him a little bit. He loved his delusions and he intended to hold on to them for as long as he could, even if it was only a few moments before she crushed his hopes when he did finally ask her out. Delainia continued walking ahead of him, as if she'd forgotten he was following her. That was a blow to a boy's ego, but he could get over it.

"It really wasn't a pick up line. I just think your world would be fascinating to live in. You know, the whole a-day-in-the-life-of kind of thing. Of course, in my opinion, anyone's life is better than my life."

"Self-pity really isn't cool. Believe me, I've just wallowed in it for the last hour. Some people's lives are better and some are worse. It's all depending on the perspective. You've dealt fairly well with returning. Others haven't."  
"Others like who?"

Delainia shrugged, any hint of amusement and pleasure gone from her face. She was gnawing on her bottom lip again. Third time that day he'd counted it. She must really like the taste of her lip-gloss. Shawn watched her as she shut down. He felt a good deal of self-recrimination for causing that reaction.

"Why are you following me? You're class is on the other side of the school."

"You know where my next class is? Stalking me?"

"Don't flatter yourself."  
Shawn sighed, "I've done it again it seems."  
"Done what?"

"Made you mad. Listen. I was just wanting to start a conversation with you because I wanted to ask you what you were doing tomorrow night?"

"Tortured artist not working on the other girls?"

"Not hardly. Seriously, though, Nikki, Danny, and I were going to go see a movie. Me, I feel like a third wheel when I'm with my brother and his girlfriend, so it'd be nice if I had someone else to counteract that feeling. Since no one else will even talk to me…"

"Oh, so I'm last resort. You're doing a smashing job of asking me out, you know."

"Yeah. I know. I actually had it all planned out. But everything went downhill with the bad pick up line."

That sentence received a grin as she shrugged. "I usually take care of my sister."

"You've mentioned that before."  
"But-well…she has a birthday party to go to tomorrow night. I could get away from the house for a few hours. It's just to see a movie, right?"

"Yeah. Just a movie."  
"Okay. I'll go." Delainia felt a weight lifting off her shoulders. She was finally accepting someone's invitation to participate. She was going to have a life. Kaleen would be okay at that birthday party. Kaleen wouldn't be alone with their father who didn't even acknowledge her. It was okay to have a life outside the family. Suddenly, the bell rang once more, alerting all the students that they should be in their seats. Delainia's eyes flashed as she walked over the threshold of her classroom. She gave Shawn a small wave as the door shut behind her, leaving him standing alone in the hallway, at least three minutes away from his class.

Delainia sat on her oak dresser, her legs criss-crossed as she applied her mascara. She hated to admit that she was nervous, even though she knew that this movie thing was not a date. It was a group of friends going out together to see a nice choice of entertainment. But whom was she kidding? She'd been attracted to Shawn Farrell since the day she'd laid eyes on him and the girl deep inside of her wished that this was a date. She wanted to delude herself into believing that it was. She smoothed her favorite pink lipstick over her lips as Kaleen entered, dressed up for her own party.

"Can I wear some of your lip gloss, Laini?"

"No. You're eight."  
"Drusilla wears lipstick."

"Then her mother is insane."

Kaleen sighed angrily and collapsed dramatically onto Delainia's bed. She pulled her legs up to her chin and rested it on her knees. She studied her sister warily.  
"You're crabby."  
"I'm not crabby."

"Are too."  
Delainia rolled her eyes while she clasped her necklace over her throat.   
"I'm not getting in a fight with you, Kaleen. Now, would you like to wear one of my bracelets or are you going to keep being a brat?"

Kaleen's blue eyes lit up as she jumped off the bed so she could run to the jewelry drawer in Delainia's dresser. She pulled the drawer open with great excitement and began thumbing through the different pieces in it. She looked at each one carefully before making her selection.

"Are you goin' on a date, Laini?"

"Why do you ask?"  
"You're crabby and then you're nice. You're wearing more make up. And you're wearing a fancy shirt."

"I wear shirts like this all the time, Kaleen."

"Not all the time. Am I right? Is a boy coming to pick you up?"

"Yes. Along with his brother and his girlfriend. So it's not like it's just us."  
"No. It's a double date."

Delainia sighed loudly, knowing she had just fueled her sister's imagination. She could imagine the stories Kaleen was making up in her head for this situation. She slid down off the dresser and smoothed her ruffled skirt.   
"It's not a double date, either, Sweet. I'm just going out with some friends."

Kaleen tugged on her arm and reached up to brush Delainia's long black hair back from her face with sisterly admiration.

"You look pretty."

"So do you."

Kaleen bit her lip, an apparent hereditary sign of nervousness. She fidgeted even though she was unaware of her own movement.

"We'll both have a good time, Kaleen. Don't worry. Now, Maia's baby-sitter is taking you both to the party, right?"

"Yep and Ms. Skouris is supposed to be back from her business trip when it's over, so she'll pick us up from Drusilla's."

"Okay." Delainia leaned down and kissed her Kaleen's forehead. She winked at her as the doorbell rang.

"You'll be great, Kaleen. Everyone will love you."

Kaleen didn't seem too sure of Delainia's statement as she walked almost dreadfully to the door. Delainia was amazed that her sister could go from excitement to dread in zero point two seconds, but then again, she was doing the same for her double-date-group-friend-movie thing. Delainia watched as Kaleen left with Maia, who looked even wearier than Delainia felt. That was never a good sign. The psychic was worried.

Diana sighed as she tossed Jensen Longtree's file across the desk. He had been out of town yesterday when another woman was taken. Diana and Tom had also been away, interviewing uncooperative New Yorkers when it had happened. They had immediately checked on the whereabouts of every suspect and Longtree was in Hawaii at the time. His alibi was airtight. The disappointment Diana felt wasn't from narrowing down the list. The disappointment was from not being able to remove Patrick Grace from it. She could see his daughters, brave and alone in the world except for each other, and she wanted to make things easier for them. Suspecting their father of odd kidnappings was not the way to do that. Diana wondered if maybe she should remove herself from the case. She was obviously too close to the case; Maia's little friend was around all the time. Still, she wanted to help ease the pain of an investigation that would inevitably fall upon the Grace household. Maybe she could work the friendship to her advantage, insist on meeting Kaleen's father due to the code of parenting. Then, she could ask him questions without letting the girls know what was happening. She liked that plan. Diana pulled her black hair back into a couple of hair clips to get it out of her eyes. Tonight was going to be a long night. Maia was at a birthday party, so she would be occupied for a little while. Diana would be able to put in some extra hours at the office. She liked working late-the hazards of being a workaholic. She pulled her legs up into the chair and settled in for a nice, quiet reading of the files. Then, the phone rang.

Kaleen had cried at first, the pain of being outcast and betrayed still fresh in her mind. Maia hadn't cried. Maia had stood calmly and held her hand while Kaleen pulled the dramatics. Kaleen had eventually seen how strong her friend was, who had been through just as much as she had, and decided to react in the same manner. Now they sat side-by-side on the curb outside Drusilla's house, a sort of shell-shocked expression on their faces. A car pulled up and Maia perked up slightly. Diana unlocked the doors and the two girls slid in silently. Diana was instantly worried about it. Maia hadn't said much on the phone, just that they needed to be picked up from the birthday party early. She hadn't pried, either, figuring the girls had just ended up being bored at the party. Now, she wasn't so sure. She had seen Maia solemn before. She usually was. But Kaleen was rarely as quiet or serious as Maia. Diana merged onto the road and allowed the car ride to go by in silence. Kaleen was staring blankly out the window, black hair falling out of a messy ponytail. She was fiddling with a pink bracelet on her wrist. Maia stared straight ahead with only her dirty blond hair to shield her face. Diana's heart broke at the sight of them.  
"What happened?"

"Nothing." Maia said sullenly. She sounded like a teenager. The usually optimistic child was nowhere to be seen with only this pessimistic, depressed girl in her place.

"I don't believe that."

"They wanted to see if I was really a psychic."

"How does that work?" Diana asked cautiously, knowing she didn't want to hear the answer.

"They didn't want me to come. Kaleen, either. They wanted to see if I knew they didn't want me there, and they wanted to see if I knew what would happen at the party."

"Your not psychic, Maia."

"Mhm."

"You've never let what anyone else thought bother you before."

"It's not that, Diana." Maia hid her head and refused to say anymore. Diana gave her more space, due to the feeling that Maia was keeping something hidden. Something she didn't want Kaleen to hear. She would wait until they dropped Kaleen off at the house. She had wondered when Maia had called if this would be the opportunity to speak with Patrick Grace. She didn't think it was, not anymore. Kaleen already had enough to deal with.

"Kaleen, is your sister already at home?"

"No, she went on a date. "

Diana waited for her to elaborate, but received no more to the story. Diana pulled out her cell phone and had Kaleen dial the number for her. She waited until Delainia answered, quietly explained the situation while trying her best not to rub it into the girls' already injured egos. Then she hung up as they pulled in front of the Grace house.

"Delainia said she would be home in a few minutes. Will you be okay in there alone, Kaleen?"

"My dad's home." Kaleen opened the door and gave one last forlorn look at Maia, who returned the look. Then the door slammed shut and Kaleen strode to the door. Diana watched to make sure she got inside all right. Then, she turned to look at Maia.

"What really happened?"

"I told you. They wanted to see if I was psychic. They were disappointed I wasn't."

Motherly protectiveness flowed through Diana's veins. It was odd really, her maternal feelings. She had never thought she would be or want to be a mother. Motherhood wasn't in her plans. She was an agent of Homeland Security, a scientist. That was her life. But since she'd met Maia, she suddenly had more fulfillment. Her life wasn't just work anymore. She had a little girl to watch over and she loved the responsibility. She loved Maia like she was her own daughter.

"That is cruel of them to use you as a novelty and it's horrible that they are putting that amount of pressure on you to be different. You can't control your gift and it's terrible that they are trying to make you. You can't be expected to-"

The look in Maia's wide brown eyes stopped her short. Three words chilled her to the core.

"I did know."

Diana nearly dropped her keys in her lap. She stared at Maia for a long while before turning around. Maia stared at her just as evenly, her look pained and subdued. Dozens of questions entered Diana's head as she watched the little girl. Why did Maia go to the party then? Why didn't she protect Kaleen from the pain? Why didn't she protect herself from the pain? Why didn't she tell someone what was going to happen? Why did she allow it to happen? Was that why Maia was more subdued, instead of upset, about the situation? Diana sighed as she tried to push the unanswered questions from her mind. She started the car and didn't ask any of the questions that floated around in her head. Maia didn't explain and she wouldn't have to. She could protect Maia from that much, at least, especially since she was powerless to stop others from hurting Maia.

Delainia started to laugh care freely as she and Shawn exited the movie theater. All she could see was Danny and Nikki making out in the back row of the theater and Shawn shifting with discomfort at the display of affection. She didn't think it was jealousy of Danny's girlfriend, she thought it was just the surreal scene of watching his brother making out with someone. Shawn had finally whispered for them to leave the theater, since neither of them was really watching the movie anyway. So Delainia had agreed and the two had ditched the rest of the movie and the hormonally charged teenagers.

"That was hilarious." Delainia said lightly.  
"It was disgusting."

"Come on, it was funny. You have to admit it."

"No. It was horrible. Watching them go from learning to crawl to crawling all over each other is hardly my idea of fun. It's like watching a train wreck. I guess things haven't changed that much since I was seventeen."

Delainia chuckled lightly and spun out into the moonlight. She wrapped her jacket closer to her body as the wind picked up around her. It sent her hair flying into interesting patterns around her head, but she didn't seem to mind that her perfect coiffure was now messed up. Shawn stayed under the streetlight, content to watch a carefree Delainia. He had never seen her so lighthearted and he liked it. Maybe Delainia was more comfortable away from school and he'd never had the chance to see it before.

"Okay, one, you're still seventeen, Shawn. Two, you turned seventeen three years ago, so even if you were twenty, things would still be the same."

He laughed as she reached out for his arm and pulled him out to her odd dance in the moonlight. He stood there awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't going to dance, not in public without any music. It just wasn't something he would do. Of course, constraints of society were annoying, especially when Delainia seemed so ready to reject them, but he wasn't ready to just throw caution to the wind. Ah, he should be a writer of romance novels with thoughts like that.

"You're crazy, you know that. People can see you."  
"People stare. You know that better than anyone." She smiled brightly, but she did stop her little escapade around the parking lot. Shawn found a curb to sit on and he slid down in a fluid motion. Delainia stayed standing, but she had collected herself to a degree. She waited for him to say something. Sadly, Shawn wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know what to talk about. School? That was hardly interesting. Family life? Always seemed to be a touchy subject. Her earlier life? No. She even hid that she was British. She probably wouldn't be forthcoming in information about herself. Her sister?

"You've mentioned your sister several times. What's her name?"

Delainia brightened considerably at the mention of her little sister. Sure, she was cumbersome sometimes when it came to having a life, but she adored the girl. She was bright, pretty, and personable, though here in Seattle, people seemed to be missing that last fact.

"Kaleen. She's eight."  
"Do your parents work a lot? I mean, you said you take care of her."

Delainia broke her gaze away from Shawn and stared down at her pointed toed shoes. She clicked the heels on the pavement as if she thought the clicking would send her home like Dorothy in the _Wizard of Oz_. Of course, it did no good, but it did change her movement.

"My mom died a couple years ago. And my dad-he, well-"

Her cell phone began to vibrate and light up. Delainia hesitated as she considered completing her confession or answering the phone. She looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Diana Skouris' number. She pulled the phone up to her ear immediately while pressing the talk button.

"Hello?"

Shawn quieted as he folded his hands in his lap in front of him. He checked the digital clock above the movie screenings and saw that it was 8:37 PM. Not late, by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe he could talk Delainia into going to the coffeehouse after Nikki and Danny got out of the movie. Things seemed to be going well. Nikki loved having another girl in the group and Danny was happy because Nikki was happy. Shawn had always known Delainia had the potential to be quite sweet if he didn't provoke her and he had been right. Delainia was delightful company. He dropped his head into his knees, trying to avoid eavesdropping on Delainia's conversation. Eavesdropping was bad. But he couldn't help but hear it.

"You have to be kidding me. I never knew eight-year-olds could be such-such-Ohhhhhh…" Delainia let out a groan. "I can't even think of a word, I'm so mad. Was she okay? I mean like an I-know-I'm-better-than-all-those-other-girls-and-I-can't-let-them-get-to-me-okay, or an I'm-sucking-it-up-so-I-can-go-cry-alone-in-my-room-okay?"

Delainia hardly waited for an answer, "Thank you for picking her up and for letting me know, Ms. Skouris. I'm on my way home now."

Delainia disconnected the phone and dropped it into her purse. Her eyes held an unimaginable amount of pain in them and she looked like she wanted to cry.

"I have to go home. Now."

"What's wrong?"

"The girl who asked Kaleen and Maia to the birthday party, Drusilla, she wasn't asking them to the party because she liked them. She invited them because Maia is somewhat of a novelty since she's a 4400 and they thought they'd play see if the psychic knows what we're really thinking. It was all a game. Kaleen found out and is crushed. Maia's just hurt by what they did. And because Kaleen's hurt."

"Maia Rutledge?"  
"Yeah. You know her?"

"She's one of us. I know that much. And she's sweet."

"She is. I have to get home and see Kaleen. She's going to be miserable for days."

Delainia bit back tears as she thought of her sister's face. What did she do to deserve all the stuff that had happened to her? She was eight! Life should still be all fluff and innocence, cartoons and fun. Why wasn't it ever for the Graces?

"Okay. I'll leave a message with Danny and Nikki that we've gone."

"No. That's okay. I'll just grab a cab. You should stay here."  
"No. I really can take you home."  
"No, thank you. I had a nice time tonight, Shawn. Thank you for inviting me out. I felt -" She searched for the right word. "I felt normal."  
Shawn cocked his head at her comment, but Delainia ignored it. She turned away from him and went running towards the street as tears stung at her eyes. This shouldn't have happened. Not to Kaleen. And now Kaleen was going to be beyond repair in the self-esteem department for a while and she was going to be pining over some guy that she didn't have time for. Friends complicated things. She knew that. She should have known better. She had learned that a long time ago when everyone had deserted her the day her mother had died. She had responsibilities and reliance on others just wasn't a possibility.

Delainia slammed the door and rushed into the living room. Her father sat in the chair, fascinated by the unlit fireplace in the center of the room. She didn't even greet her father as she hurried into her sister's bedroom. Kaleen was curled into a tiny ball, the blanket their mother had made wrapped around her. She was sobbing into the blanket, trying to stifle the sounds. Delainia rushed to the bed and pulled Kaleen into her lap. She rocked her sister without saying anything to her. She just comforted the poor girl. Kaleen buried her head into Delainia's shoulder, alternately wailing and sniffling. Delainia pressed gentle kisses in her sister's hair to soothe her. She would do anything to get Kaleen to stop crying. Finally, she did, but she stayed clutched onto Delainia.

"What happened, pet?"

Kaleen hiccupped and tried to breathe deeply. She seemed to be at a loss for words.

"They didn't want us there. They wanted to see if Maia was really psychic, because they said if she were she would know that we weren't wanted there. And since we went, they-they…."

A fresh floodgate of tears opened and Kaleen buried her face in tighter. She mumbled into it, "It's not fair, Laini. They were so mean."

"I know."

"No. You have friends. I only have Maia."

"I know that you only have Maia, but if you ask me, Maia's pretty good to have around. And I hardly have tons of friends. I have three, at most, and even then we're not exactly friends."

"At least people aren't mean to you."

"That's true. Listen, Kaleen, you can't let them get to you. You're better and stronger than that. Kids are cruel and careless in what they say. You have to accept that. You are one of the sweetest, most intelligent little girls I know. You're better than them. And so is Maia."

Kaleen shook her head in denial. Delainia had never felt so angry at a bunch of eight-year-olds. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but they had really done a number on her little sister. Kaleen's self-esteem was now well below healthy and she had no idea how to raise it. She didn't know how to help her sister fit in, she was an outcast herself. How did she fix the world for Kaleen? If she could just help Kaleen adjust better than she was, she would be happy. It was times like these that she missed Coral. Coral always knew how to fix problems. She always knew how to put everything in perspective. Her mother had a special talent for making life seem magical. Delainia had no clue how to do it.

"I wish Mummy was here." Kaleen whispered suddenly.

"I wish Mum was here, too." Delainia cuddled into her sister's hair, trying her best not to feel hopeless. Now was not the time. She had to be tough for Kaleen's sake. Kaleen needed someone to be her rock. She was nominated, not that she minded caring for her sister. She just didn't have time to dwell on what they were missing. She had to put things in perspective for Kaleen; the way Coral had always done for her. No amount of wishing would bring their mother back. She would have to learn how to do it herself because Kaleen deserved the same perceptions and chances that Delainia had had when she was eight. She would try her best to fill her mum's shoes, even if it was hard to walk in them.


	6. Interrogations

****

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter Six _**

**_Interrogations_**

****

Diana sat quietly at her desk, twisting a pencil thoughtfully between her fingers. Her face portrayed her contemplation and she seemed to be completely lost in whatever she was thinking. Tom stood in the doorway to her office, studying her; mildly curious as to how long it would take her to notice him. He waited patiently for a few moments before he cleared his throat to catch her attention. She glanced up and seemed surprised by his presence.

"Been standing there long?"

"You didn't seem to know I was here. Napping on the job is bad, Diana."

"I was hardly napping." She said defensively, ignoring the obvious twinkle in Tom's eyes. "What do you know about Shawn's friend, Delainia Grace?"

Tom rolled his eyes before sinking down into one of Diana's badly upholstered office chairs. He clasped his hands in his lap before replying to her question.

"My nephew and I aren't exactly close at the moment, Diana. His contributing to my son's coma has ended any kind of close relationship we might have had. Why are you asking me about Shawn's friends?"

It was Diana's turn to roll her eyes at Tom's answer. He did enjoy exaggerating Shawn's part in Kyle Baldwin's coma. They both knew Shawn wasn't responsible for Kyle's coma. Tom wanted someone to blame for Kyle's tragic accident and all the problems that stemmed from it. Unfortunately for Shawn, he was in the crossfire of the blame and anger. To Tom, Shawn's disappearance did nothing to absolve him. Shawn was taken the same night Kyle had fallen into the coma. The aliens or whatever it was that had taken the 4400 were like responsible for Kyle's illness, but Tom wanted someone corporeal to blame. Shawn was the lucky candidate, no matter how much he denied his involvement in the incident. Diana exhaled slowly and tossed the pencil to her desk, no longer wanting to waste her energy on fiddling the object.

"Maia is friends with Delainia's little sister, Kaleen. The Grace girls are incredibly sweet and strong…"

"So why are you asking about Delainia?"

Diana lifted her hands up to rub her temples in an attempt to stop the oncoming migraine. Just thinking about the girls and their father made her want to scream. The girls were so amazing, to both Maia and Shawn, and they were going to have to go through the pain of finding out their father was a suspect in a mass kidnapping case. Kaleen probably wouldn't even be able to grasp it. Delainia simply wouldn't believe it of her father. Plus, the investigation could possibly ruin Maia's friendship with the only girl that didn't treat her like she was an outsider. Diana couldn't stand the thought of ruining things for Maia who deserved so much more than she had.

"Their father is one of our suspects for the kidnapping case. One of the two. I'm trying to figure out how to approach him without letting the girls know I'm interrogating him. I'd like to try to protect them."

"You want me to ask Shawn for a way to keep them from finding out about the investigation?"

"Actually, I would like you to ask Shawn to keep Delainia away from her house tomorrow afternoon. Kaleen can come to my apartment to play with Maia; nothing out of the ordinary. Delainia will be a bit harder to protect, but I understand she has formed a friendship with Shawn."  
"I can ask him, Diana. I don't know if he will be inclined to listen to me."  
"You seem to be the one who isn't inclined to listen, Tom. But that's a whole other conversation. I would like for you to try talking to Shawn. I want to make this easier for the girls."

"Diana Skouris, bleeding heart."

"Not quite. Will you do it?"

Tom lifted his hands in surrender and nodded.  
"It doesn't seem I have much of a choice. I'll try."

"Thank you."

Diana offered him a dazzling smile before looking back down at her papers. She retrieved her discarded pencil and prepared to make a list of questions. Tom stood abruptly and headed for the office door once he realized he had been dismissed. Diana seemed to just realize what she'd done.

"Tom? Did you come to my office for a reason?'

He hesitated and then shook his head reluctantly.

"Can't I just come in to harass my favorite partner?"

He offered her a boyish grin before he finally did exit the office. Diana watched him go, curiosity seeping inside of her. Tom didn't just come in to bother her. Tom wasn't the type to drop in randomly to say hi. He had a reason for coming. She wondered if she would ever find out why he'd come. Maybe he had wanted to talk about something personal. That would explain his leaving with only a flimsy excuse as to why he'd come to her in the first place. Diana tried to stop her thoughts as they flowed into her brain. She could speculate for hours on Tom Baldwin and the reason he did things, but she didn't have the time to. Tom rarely made sense to her. As a scientist, it bothered her that he wasn't something she could experiment on to find answers. As an agent, it drove her insane that he wasn't something she could solve after putting pieces of a puzzle together. She sighed loudly and buried herself into Patrick Grace's file to stop her thinking of Tom. She needed to prepare herself for the interrogation so she could get it over with as soon as possible.

Tom tried calling Shawn. He really did want to help Diana out; after all, it was his job as her partner. Still, he didn't know how to talk to Shawn anymore. Their conversations typically ended in accusations and screaming to the point that neither of them wanted to talk anymore. Tom had been plagued for three years with the wonder of why Shawn had deserted his unconscious cousin on the beach. His goal since Kyle had been sick was to find Shawn and make him explain what had happened. He had searched everywhere for his nephew and when he had suddenly reappeared, Shawn had been completely without answers. Shawn had even pretended to be shocked to find out that Kyle was in a coma, which ate at Tom's nerves. Tom tried to stop himself from becoming overly upset, but every time Shawn entered his mind, he had the urge to hit something. The only way that Tom could calm himself was to go visit Kyle and watch his son in a motionless sleep.

Tom nodded politely to the nurse on duty before entering Kyle's familiar hospital room. The privacy of the room comforted him, though the constant beeping of the machines grated on his nerves. He always felt off-kilter when he was in the room with Kyle. Tom surveyed the room and was shocked to find Shawn sitting next to Kyle's bed, his head bowed reverently while he clutched his cousin's hand.

"Shawn?"

Shawn looked startled at being caught in Kyle's room. He jumped to his feet, jerking away from Kyle's bed. He began to stumble backwards to the wall as he lowered his eyes.

"Uncle Tommy. Sorry, I didn't know you were going to be here. I wouldn't have come if-"

"It's okay, Shawn. Despite our differences, you and Kyle were close. Maybe you're voice will help wake him up. They say he can hear us."

The two stood opposite of each other: Shawn looking like he was ready to bolt, Tom looking like he wanted to pummel something, though they seemed to be trying to make a tentative peace. Shawn shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet and began doing a nervous dance. Tom watched Kyle steadily, wishing for some sort of movement from the boy. The awkwardness in the room would have been enough to make Kyle want to be in a coma. Tom thought suddenly of how disappointed Kyle would be to see the sad state of Shawn and Tom's relationship. Tom had always been the cool dad/uncle and Tom had fallen from grace as far as that category was concerned. He was positive that Shawn knew something, even if he didn't realize it. How could Shawn be with Kyle the whole night and not know what happened to him? Tom ran an unsteady hand through his short hair.

"Do you know someone named Delainia Grace, Shawn?"

Shawn seemed taken aback by that question. He took several more steps back, nearly running into the wall. "Spying on me now? Great. I knew you didn't trust me, but this is kind of low, even for you."

"I was not spying on you. Diana, my partner at Homeland Security, asked me to talk to you. Maia and Miss Grace's little sister are friends."  
"What does that have to do with you asking me about Delainia?"

"I don't know how to explain this to you. Diana and I are working on another case concerning 4400 anomalies."

Shawn flinched visibly at Tom's choice of words. A twinge of guilt crept up inside of Tom, but it vanished as quickly as it had come.

"Diana and her sister aren't quite 4400 anomalies."

"No, but their father is."

Shawn thought back to the way Delainia had always acted, including her reaction to the fact that he was a 4400. Pieces started falling together and everything made sense. That's why Delainia took care of her little sister. Her father must be adjusting to life as a 4400. No wonder Delainia was under a great deal of pressure. She was trying to help her sister and her father adjust to a new place. He was curious as to why they didn't stay wherever it was they had been before her father had disappeared, but they must have decided it was for the best. How many times had he wished he could live somewhere else?

"You're investigating Delainia's father?"

"Yes. Patrick Grace. It's a kidnapping case. I would tell you more, but I can't, due to the whole sworn to secrecy thing. Diana needs to question Mr. Grace tomorrow afternoon and she wants the girls to be out of the house so they won't find out about it. The little girl is going to be at Diana's apartment with Maia, but Delainia still needs to be distracted. Can you take her out or ask her to study or something of the sort? Until Diana or I call you?"

"Of course."

Shawn didn't hesitate. He didn't even care of if it was a favor for his uncle. Suddenly Shawn's problems seemed less important to him when he thought of Delainia's problems. What would she do if she did find out that her father was suspected of kidnapping? Her dreams of being a normal girl would disappear out the window and Shawn didn't want that to happen. He wanted her to be normal as much as he wanted to be normal. Shawn sighed while he tried to process what he was being told. He didn't know the details of the case, but if Homeland Security was investigating, it had to be bad. Homeland Security wasn't just doing it because Mr. Grace was a 4400. There was a reason they suspected Mr. Grace for being responsible.

"Thank you, Shawn. Diana's going over there around three. If you can keep Delainia away until we call, we'll appreciate it greatly."

"I can do that. But Uncle Tommy, I'm not doing this to help you."

Shawn wasn't sure why he had added in that last did, as it was completely unnecessary, but he had felt like he needed Tom to know why he was doing this. He didn't want Tom to think it was okay for him to treat him this way.

"I know. I'm not asking you because I want you to help me. I'm asking you for Diana."

The two seemed to have reached an agreement and a truce of sorts. Shawn picked up his jacket from uncomfortable plastic chair and started for the door. Right as he exited, he spoke. "Just so you know, if I remembered anything that had happened, I would have told you. If I knew what happened to Kyle or knew how to help him, I would. I'm not a horrible person, like you seem to think. You have to stop blaming me sometime, Uncle Tommy, no matter how long it takes you. Kyle was my best friend and my cousin. I lost a lot when he fell into a coma, just like I lost a lot when I was abducted. I hope Kyle wakes up as much as you do."

Shawn left Tom without another word. All Tom could do was stand speechless in the hospital room with only the beeping to break the silence.

Shawn propped himself up on the stairs outside of the school building, waiting for Delainia to come to school. He had arrived early, just so he could talk to her. People milled around him, entering the school and forming the clumps of friends that teenagers did. Nikki and Danny had offered to leave early with him, but Shawn had insisted that he was fine. He wanted to talk to Delainia privately. Delainia finally did arrive, her face shrouded from any real emotion. She seemed fascinated with her feet as she walked, swerving to avoid any head on collision with other students. Shawn hopped up and grabbed a hold of her hand. Delainia jerked away immediately, as if the touch burned her. Shawn was positive that this was one of the most confusing girls he'd ever met.

"Sorry. I guess I should have called your name."

"It's okay. Listen, I need to go to class."

"Are you mad at me, Delainia? I didn't think I'd done anything wrong lately. Of course, what do I know?"

"No, I'm not mad at you. It's-never mind."

Shawn wondered if she did know about her father. Maybe she knew what he was doing and she didn't know what to do about the information. She probably wouldn't want to turn her own father in. The stress of that would be enough to make her snap at him.

"What is it?"

"Just my little sister. The devils that invited Maia and Kaleen to their party won't even be punished for what they did. It was all in good fun. It doesn't matter that my little sister cried all day on Sunday, locked up in her room and -why am I telling you this? You don't care."

"I do care. What makes you think that I don't care?"

"I don't want to assume anything. Kaleen thought Drusilla and her little friends cared and you know how well that turned out. Besides, you've never even met Kaleen, Shawn. Why would you care about her being upset?"

"I haven't met your little sister because you haven't introduced me. It's not because I don't want to. I want you to tell me what's wrong. I want to help you. You can tell me things, Delainia, and you won't have to worry about me telling anyone else. No one else will talk to me." He cracked the last sentence as a joke, but he didn't even receive a smile in return. He felt miserable for not being able to cheer her up, and he didn't even no why he wanted to lift her spirits. He hardly knew Delainia. Why had she left such an impression on his life?

"That's all. Listen, I really do need to go to class."

"We've still got ten minutes. There's no reason for you to run away from me. I'm not out to get you."

"At least at the moment."

Shawn chuckled lightly at her comment. He reached for her arm again and she didn't jerk away. This time he succeeded in pulling her away from the hoards of teenagers. He led her around the side of the building without much of a fight. Delainia leaned against the brick and looked up at Shawn.

"Why are you so adamant about talking to me this morning? This couldn't wait until fourth hour? I've got to go finish a worksheet for Science, thus my deep desire to enter the school."

"Your desire to enter the school makes sense. However, your desire to get away from me does not."

"What are you talking about now, Shawn?" She rolled her green eyes before glancing back down at her shoes. She adjusted the messenger bag on her shoulder, trying to relieve herself from some of the weight it added to her. She waited for Shawn's answer, but he just watched her intently, which in turn led to her being uncomfortable.

"I don't want to get away from you."

"You don't? I'm not getting that impression from you."

Delainia bit her lip nervously, again. One of these days, she was going to make her lip bleed from the chewing. She glanced up furtively and then looked away again, her dark hair shrouding her face.

"That's the problem, Shawn. I don't want to get away from you."

Shawn tried to let that comment process in his mind. She didn't want to get away from him? And that was a problem? How was that a problem? That they could be friends? Her answer confused him even more than he had been previously. Maybe it was better to not ask the girl questions. No, he wanted to know what she meant. He needed to know.

"I don't understand, Delainia."

She shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage, but her nervousness was now vibrating off of her in waves. She pushed away from the wall and started to walk back towards the stairs.

"It doesn't mean anything, Shawn. I don't know what I'm talking about. It's too early in the morning for me to be forming complete sentences."

"You just did."

"I'll talk to you later." Delainia began rushing away from him, her head down, a pretty pink blush coloring cheeks.

"Delainia, you're running away from me again."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Shawn almost let her go, but then he remembered why he had wanted to talk to her in the first place. He had to help Uncle Tommy out on this. He had to protect Delainia from the truth. If she didn't know, the thought of her father being a kidnapper would crush her. He had to stop that from happening.

"Delainia, I had fun on Saturday."

She stopped in between the bushes and she turned back to look at him. She looked almost distressed by his comment, but she tried to hide it. Shawn thought she would stare at him forever with her haunting eyes, but she finally spoke.

"I did, too."

"Can we hang out after school today? I know you watch Kaleen, but I thought maybe we could study for French. I'm still behind on it. While I speak English well, and according to the TV reports, a wonderfully eclectic alien language, French just hasn't caught on."

Delainia almost smiled. He could see the corners of her lips starting to upturn. She considered what he said. "Okay. Kaleen is going to be at her friend's house today. So we can study after school, **_here_**, if that works for you."

"Sounds excellent."

She did smile, then, finally. A full, toothy grin that made Shawn want to grab her and shield her from the storm that was about to rain on her head. Then she disappeared into the crowd to attend class; Shawn following not too far behind.

Diana stood outside the doorway to the Grace house. She rang the doorbell twice and received no response. Hopefully, Patrick Grace was home. How horrible it would be if he weren't even home, after all the trouble they had been through to keep the girls away from the house. She knocked on the door again and called out, "Mr. Grace, it's Diana Skouris from Homeland Security. I wanted to ask you some questions, make sure you were settling in okay. Please open the door."

She waited and finally the door unlocked and opened. Diana was surprised to see how handsome the man standing before her was. She didn't know what she had been expecting. A broken man to go with a broken personality perhaps? He tilted his head acutely, but remained in front of the doorway to block her entrance.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, Mr. Grace. As I said before, I'm Diana Skouris from Homeland Security. I needed to ask you a few questions about your return."

"I've told them all I know about my disappearance. They taped it. If Homeland Security wants to see what I have to say, they can replay that."

"Sir, this is about something else. There have been several abductions in the area that seem to be related to the 4400. Unfortunately, you are one of the suspects and I need to get some information from you." Diana decided it was best to be up front with her reason for being there. It wouldn't be easier if she tiptoed around the topic with the man.

"Can't this wait? My little girl should be back any minute."

"Kaleen? She's at my apartment. She's friends with my dau-foster daughter, Maia."  
"I met Delainia's friend, Maia, but I don't know who this Kaleen is. You must have me mixed up with someone else."

Diana seemed taken aback by his answer. Mr. Grace had seemed perfectly lucid, but his comment then had just proved otherwise. He was crazy? He'd obviously lost his mind. She suddenly realized what Kaleen had meant by her father didn't know her. He didn't recognize the girl as his daughter. An affect of his abduction?

"I must have the wrong Kaleen Grace. May I come in, Sir?"

"I suppose." The man stepped aside to allow her inside the house. Diana glanced around the foyer before Grace took her into the living room.

"What did you wish to ask me, Ms. Skouris?"

"You are from London?"

"Is the accent not obvious enough for you?"

"Just double checking my background on you. You've also lived in New York?"  
"Yes. Delainia and her mother wanted to live in New York, so we moved there to find me a new job. Then we returned to London, because my ladies missed their family. After awhile, my wife and I decided to move here to Seattle."

Diana's mouth almost dropped open. Coral Grace had been dead for more than a year, and he acted as if they had decided to move to Seattle together. As far as her records showed, Coral, Delainia and Kaleen moved to New York after Patrick Grace's disappearance. Coral died in 2002, leaving the girls behind in New York. When Patrick returned, Delainia had moved them back to London, but the pressure of his sudden return was too much, so they moved to Seattle for anonymity. The way Patrick told it, they had made the decision together. It was amazing. The man seemed perfectly normal, but he was obviously very sick. Even if he wasn't responsible for the abductions, he needed help. Delainia couldn't be forced to take all this responsibility on herself. Delainia was already supporting her sister. Supporting her father could be too much for the girl.

"Mr. Grace, where were you Friday, October 29, 2004 at 2:30 PM?"

Grace's face blanched visibly at the mention of the date of the last abduction.

"I was making up with my wife at the Space Needle for being a recently inattentive husband."

"What does your wife look like, Mr. Grace?"

Coral was dead. Diana was positive of that. But this man thought he was making up with his wife at the Space Needle conviently near the last abduction.

"She has the bluest eyes you've ever seen, the most soft spoken voice that comes from the pinkest lips, and long brown hair. She's quite beautiful."  
"I imagine she was. Mr. Grace, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you into the Security office for more questions. We might need to get you in to see a doctor and then we'll talk some more."

"I don't need to see a doctor! I'm fine!"

"It was only a suggestion." Diana had seen his eyes flash dangerously and she wanted to avoid agitating him. "Do you think you can come with me to the office?"

"Absolutely not. Laini will have to come home sometime soon, and I will not leave her here while her mother gallivants around the city."

"Sir, your daughter will be taken care of."

"I said no!" He stood up and jerked her to him. She was unexpectedly looking into his deep green eyes and something inside of her flickered.  
"You will leave my family and I alone. You cannot come around here again. You won't want to. Do you understand? You have the wrong Patrick Grace!"

Diana nodded, unaware of the tight grip the tall man had on her. She watched him slightly dumbfounded before she smiled sweetly.

"Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Grace. I'm sorry that I had the wrong Patrick Grace. I will not bother you again."

With that, Diana lifted her purse up as well as her briefcase and left the house in a stupor. Patrick sank down into his chair after she left and brushed his hands over his face. He ignored the tears that dropped from his eyes as confusion reigned over him.

"Why are you not here, Coral? Why did you leave me again?"

Maia sat on the floor, playing with her doll and teddy bear. Delainia had come and picked Kaleen up an hour ago, and now Maia and Diana were having a quiet evening at home. Diana flipped through the channels on her television as she tried to shake the odd feeling that had stuck with her since she had talked to Patrick Grace. She couldn't really remember what had caused the feeling; she just remembered that she had questioned the wrong person. It must be the other man that was responsible for the kidnappings. She really should have him arrested. Diana smiled at Maia while she reached over to call Dennis and tell him what she'd found. It couldn't be Patrick Grace. It wasn't him. She knew it. Except she didn't know why she knew that it wasn't him. She couldn't quite remember that part. But she did know that it wasn't him, so she needed to pass the word along. Maia put her toys down and spoke softly, "Diana?"

Diana put the phone back into her lap after hearing Maia's tone of voice. The little girl obviously wanted to talk about something important, and so she would listen completely.

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"He doesn't know what he's doing, you know. He really does think that it's his wife. He doesn't mean to hurt anybody. He doesn't mean for any of it to happen. He just wants his old life back, like the rest of us do. He just doesn't deal with it the same way we do. He really doesn't mean it, Diana. Don't get him in trouble. Please!"

Diana slid off the couch and onto the floor with Maia. She pulled Maia into a hug because the little girl seemed almost hysterical in what she was saying.  
"Whom are you talking about, Sweetie? Who is he?"

"Patrick Grace. It will make Kaleen and Delainia sad when they find out. I don't want Kaleen to be sad, Diana. Please don't get him in trouble." Her brown eyes blinked innocently, as if they hadn't seen more than they should in one lifetime. They were pleading and Diana felt confusion set in as she tried to resist giving into the puppy dog eyes. Grace was the kidnapper? How had she decided that he wasn't? Maia was never wrong. So he must be the kidnapper. What had happened to her while she was visiting him? Had he done something to her? She couldn't really remember what had happened at the house, but she had been so sure a moment ago that Patrick had nothing to do with the kidnappings.

"Diana, promise me you won't get him in trouble!"

"I can't, Maia. I can't."

Maia pulled away from her, a betrayed look on her young face.

"I shouldn't have told you. You wouldn't have remembered. He made you forget. I shouldn't have said anything! I knew you wouldn't listen to me. I knew it!"

Maia jumped from Diana's lap and ran to her room, her discarded bear and doll laying facedown in the carpet. Diana scooped the bear up and hugged it tightly to her chest. What was happening? She had never felt more confused in her life. All she could hear was Maia's words over and over in her head, _" He doesn't know what he's doing, you know. He really does think that it's his wife. He doesn't mean to hurt anybody." _


	7. Assurance

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter Seven_**

**_Assurance_**

****

Tom rushed into Diana's office, his curiosity of how Diana's meeting with Mr. Grace had gone filling him. He had expected her to call him after she had completed the meeting, but she hadn't. It hadn't worried him. Annoyed him, yes, but he just figured she was dealing with everything on her own terms. Diana was independent that way. He was surprised to find her in an almost confused daze. She had a worried expression on her face and he had to wonder if something serious had happened yesterday. Tom entered the office and took a seat.

"Diana, you all right?"

Diana shifted in the seat and dropped her hands into her lap. "Mhm. I have the oddest feeling inside my head that I can't get rid of. I've had it since last night."

"Did you take some aspirin?"

"Yeah. It just didn't help. Did you want something, Tom?" Diana asked, shifting the subject to why he was in her office. Complaining about her headache was absolutely useless. Complaints didn't solve problems.

"How'd your meeting with Grace go?"

He leaned forward, interested in Diana's reply. If they could solve the case quickly, with as little mess as possible, they may be able to save countless numbers of women without having to hurt the Grace children.

"I-It's a little fuzzy, honestly, but he didn't do it."

She said it matter-of-factly, but the moment she said it, she knew it felt wrong. She felt something was off as far as Grace was concerned. Maia's words, pleading with her not to tell about Patrick Grace's involvement so Kaleen wouldn't be sad, were the freshest thing in her mind. Diana was sick of the muddled confusion that continued to muck up her brain. She wished she could find a way to fix it, so she could remember what had happened the previous day. She wished she could remember how she had come to the conclusion that Grace was innocent and why Maia had discounted her unshakeable conclusion with a few words. The gears in Diana's head started turning and creaking as it fought the fog that clouded her mind.

"Diana…" Tom snapped his fingers in front of her face. She shivered involuntarily and looked at him evenly.

"I've felt so strange since I left the Grace house. I think something must have happened while I was there."

"Like he drugged you?"

Diana shook her head while she scooted back to dig around in her desk drawer for a pen. She found one and twirled it absent-mindedly in one hand while she pulled a notebook out from underneath a pile of papers. She was a scientist. She liked to organize her thoughts when she had so many swirling around in her head to work out. She needed to look at this whole situation as logically as possible.

Tom watched her when she began to scribble furiously. He didn't interrupt her thought process as he had learned his lesson as far as interrupting Diana was concerned. He was glad to see the confusion on her face gone as she worked everything out. A driven Diana was better than a dazed Diana. She finally looked up at him and placed her pen calmly down beside her notebook.

"He can play with people's minds."

"Excuse me?" For all of Diana's scientific genius, she came up with someone who played with minds?

"He warps minds, bends the person to his will. He can control brain activity or something. Power of persuasion and such."

"That's your brilliant solution to the Grace case. He plays with minds. How, Diana? ESP?"

Diana sighed irritably. She didn't appreciate Tom's attitude towards her conclusion.

"It makes sense, Tom. That would explain why the victims went with the man willingly. He did a number on their minds. It's why I'm so groggy this morning and sure that he was innocent when I couldn't figure out why." Diana paused and chose her words carefully. "You know the 4400 came back different. Maia did. Shawn did. Carl Morrissey. Orson Bailey. Why not Patrick Grace? Bailey could control things with his mind due to his anger. Why couldn't Grace use his to bend people to his will? Oliver Knox did with all the Friday Harbor murders. Why is it so far-fetched that Grace was given a like power?"

Tom prepared to disagree with her theory, but he couldn't. Not really. As crazy as the theory seemed, the 4400's situation was insanity. He had no reason to disagree, because of all the members that had come back different.

"So we should go talk to him together, Diana."

"So he can tag team us? I don't think so."

Tom was ready to stand his ground on this matter. They couldn't separate when they went back to see Grace.

"Maybe we should work out a plan to trip him up. He's special, but not infallible."

"He can meld our minds or whatever. We can't go in together. We'll both end up playing his game."

"So, Diana, what do you suggest? You go arrest him alone and we find you wandering aimlessly around downtown Seattle if he doesn't kill you for bothering him?"

"Are you saying that you have some kind of plan, Tom?"

"Do we have a basis to arrest him?"

Diana nodded and Tom smiled confidently. He began to nod self-assuredly.

"All right, then. I have a plan."

Diana smiled at him, then. She should have known that he had a plan. Tom always did. Tom leaned forward and began to explain his idea quietly, Diana rapt with interest.

Delainia couldn't rid herself of the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The terrifying feeling that something in her life was about to go miserable wrong invaded her thoughts every second of the day. She tried to chalk it up to some kind of paranoia, a byproduct of the way her life had been since whoever or whatever had taken her father. But somehow, she knew the feeling wasn't just paranoia.

Her mind instantly fell on Kaleen; worry for her little sister beginning to boil inside of her, taking root next to the sinking feeling. What if those bloody girls at Kaleen's elementary school had done something horrific to her again? And Delainia was stuck in Pre-Calculus unable to help her or even find out if anything was really wrong. She had to solve problems that had absolutely no affect on her life and was unable to fix the problems that plagued her sister. She had to do something. She couldn't just sit in school all day when something was happening outside of the walls.

The minute the bell rang, she was out of her seat and headed determinedly to the exit. She was on a mission. She would skip the rest of her day to check on Kaleen and then she'd go home to make sure her father was all right. She had to make sure her life wasn't going to crumble beneath her like it was so fond of doing. She wasn't going to let it happen, or she'd at least know what was going to cause it to crumble. She remained fairly unaware of the school day occurring around her, the mill of people and mindless chatter as people cheated on the homework for their next class. She wasn't so oblivious, though, that she didn't notice Shawn following her down the hall to the front doors. She didn't have time to mess with him, to explain the situation to him. She stopped abruptly, her annoyance flickering across her face as she turned to face Shawn.

"Shawn! What are you doing?"

"Walking with you." Shawn feigned innocence to Delainia's mood. He was usually able to read her well, and this instance was no different.

"You are not walking with me. You are stalking me."

Shawn ignored her childish accusation and moved to stand next to her. He knew that debating with Delainia when she fell into moods such as this was useless, so he simply moved the conversation along.

"Ditching school is bad, Delainia."

"Right, like you're one to lecture, Shawn. And what makes you think I'm ditching?"

"Your mad dash for the doors was my first clue."

Delainia paused and shifted uncomfortably as she realized what Shawn said was true. If Shawn had noticed her urgency to leave, had others?

"Don't worry. I was looking for you to go to Lit together, and I saw you going in the opposite direction."

"Are you going to try to stop me?" She didn't have time to fight with Shawn about her leaving or not.

Shawn shook his head and replied simply. "No. I'm going with you."

Indignation rose inside of Delainia. She didn't need a baby-sitter, like Shawn seemed to think she did. She was perfectly capable of taking care of the situation herself. She took care of everyone else. She didn't need Shawn.

"What makes you think I'll let you come? This is MY business."

"You are my business, Delainia. You're my friend. I like you. So what's happening to you affects me too."

Since he had discovered the truth about Delainia's life, he had a newfound appreciation of her snarkiness. He also understood the reason she pushed him away all the time. He typically did the same. He also knew the way to win a battle with her was the frustrate her. So, he would keep angering her, because in the long run, he would be able to leave with her out of her strange need to prove herself to him.

"This has nothing to do with you, Shawn. The world doesn't revolve around you, surprisingly."

"It doesn't revolve around you, either. And you know what? If we don't leave soon, the principal or someone is going to catch us."

Delainia groaned loudly. She knew what Shawn said was logical and she hated it when Shawn was logical. It made her feel positively idiotic. She opted to roll her eyes immaturely instead of responding, and turned to hurry out the door. Shawn smiled victoriously as he made his own way through the doors. She wasn't stopping him from tagging along.

Tom took a deep breath before he rang the doorbell to the Grace residence. He wasn't looking forward to having his mind messed with, but hey, anything for the resolution of a case. He raised his hand to the doorbell, but hesitated once more. He finally pressed the button and stared at the door, listening for footsteps. He could hear someone moving around inside, but they weren't moving towards the door. Patrick Grace was probably trying to avoid talking to him. He probably knew they were onto him when Diana came to question him.

"Mr. Grace, it's Tom Baldwin. I'm an agent with Homeland Security. I need to speak with you." He leaned towards the door, hoping for a response. He received no answer, though, which didn't come as a surprise him.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Mr. Grace, or your daughters."

He still didn't receive an answer. He could break down the door. They had a warrant for his arrest. They had reason to arrest him, reason to believe he was dangerous. But he wanted to try one more thing before he went for a hostile approach.

"My nephew, Shawn, is a friend with your daughter, Delainia. He really likes her."

Tom waited again, but he finally heard the footsteps he'd been waiting for. The door open slowly and Grace stood away from the door.

Tom was surprised to see how well put together the house was. He didn't know what he had expected to see, but this wasn't it. The home looked happy and normal, oddly out of place for the Grace situation. Maybe Delainia kept it all together. Likely for the sake of her little sister. He could understand that kind of dedication to family. He also admired her for it.

"Is your nephew in Delainia's grade, Mr. Baldwin?"

His smooth British accent was controlled and calm, leading an unsuspecting person to believe he was reserved and serene. Tom almost believed it and he knew the truth.

"I believe he is. He's mentioned her a couple of times to me. He's quite enamored with her."

Patrick actually smiled heartily, a proud father's smile that Tom recognized immediately.

"My little Laini's going to be a heartbreaker when she's a teenager. That is if I don't decide to beat the boys down with baseball bats before I let them date her."

Patrick chuckled as his position eased. Talking about his daughter with the man wouldn't be so bad. Maybe Shawn wanted a play date with Laini and Tom was the one to arrange it.

"Delainia's almost an adult, Mr. Grace."

Tom was momentarily confused by Patrick's remarks, but then he remembered what Diana had said. She had told him that Patrick had lost his mind; he was stuck back from before he'd been disappeared. He instantly regretted commenting on Patrick's mistake; he could see him shutting down as his posture stiffened considerably.

"You must know another Delainia. She's only eight."

You're right, Mr. Grace. I have two nephews. I get their ages mixed up sometimes."

Grace obviously didn't believe it, but he looked less inclined to hurt Tom with that excuse. But his slight trust in the man had vanished. Something was off with the Homeland Security agent.

"Did you come over here to talk about my daughter, Mr. Baldwin?"

Tom shook his head and anxiously thought about the wire attached to his chest. This was going to happen now. This plan had better work or it would all be for nothing.

"I actually came to speak to you about some murders."

"Murders? Why talk to me about them?" Patrick seemed appropriately confused, although Tom couldn't discern whether it was feigned or not.

"A colleague of mine came to question you yesterday and she told me today you weren't involved, but she had no evidence to back that up. I thought I would come talk to you and find out your alibis and that kind of thing. This whole inquiry is very informal."

Tom could see the change in Patrick's demeanor. He was suddenly incredibly standoffish, slightly confused, and angry. Tom couldn't help but look into Patrick's green eyes. His eyes held fear and confusion, but his eyes were so fascinating, almost enthralling. Tom couldn't look away. He was too drawn in to break his gaze.

"You will leave me and my family alone. Mr. Baldwin, I do not know why you and Homeland Security cannot leave me alone and choose to keep harassing me about these murders. I am not responsible and you will leave me alone. I live here happily with my eight-year-old daughter, Delainia, and my wife, Coral. Coral is already upset enough with me; I don't need your constant visits to add to that. You know that I am innocent, don't you, Mr. Baldwin?"

Tom stood almost dumbfounded in front of the tall, intimidating man.

"You are innocent, Mr. Grace. I apologize for bothering you."

"It's quite all right, Mr. Baldwin. Just leave me alone."

Patrick waited for Tom to leave, so Tom turned and started stumbling to the door. Diana burst in, handcuffs in hand, sunglasses on as she kept her eyes level. She bumped into Tom, who stood in a daze. He seemed confused by Diana's presence, confused by even where he was.

"Diana, why are you here? Where are we?"

"It's okay, Tom. I'll explain it later."

Tom didn't seem happy with that explanation, but he accepted it. Diana moved forward to Patrick, who seemed almost as stunned as Tom.

"Patrick Grace, you are under arrest for 8 counts of abduction and murder. You have the right to remain silence…"

Chaos erupted then. Grace tried to get away, struggled against the cuffs, tried desperately to get Diana to look into his eyes. She wouldn't look at him, despite her theory. She'd test that when he was in a locked cell. As Patrick struggled against Diana while she pulled him towards the door. The door swayed as the wind blew in through the house, or perhaps because Delainia stood on the porch with Shawn.

"Daddy?" She seemed surprised by what she was seeing, but not too shocked. Like she knew it would happen.

Shawn asked the question in both of their minds instantly. "Uncle Tommy, what are you doing?"

Of course, Tom couldn't answer Shawn's question since he didn't know either. Diana did answer, however. She looked at Delainia sympathetically. She hadn't wanted her to see this part of it. She'd tried to shield the Grace girls from this, but Delainia was home during the middle of the day. Why, Diana didn't know, but there was nothing Diana could do to help her now.

"I have to arrest your father, Delainia. I'm very sorry. You can come to the office and I'll try to get you in to see him. I have to take him now."

Delainia's face remained steady as she watched Diana pull Patrick out of the house. Patrick seemed ashamed to be arrested, but he looked just as angry about it as well. They were doing this in front of his little girl. How dare they. What would Coral do when Delainia told her what had happened? All of this for no reason, because they suspected him of something he couldn't possibly have done. He was with Coral those days that Agent Skouris had mentioned.

Delainia didn't cry as she watched Diana and Patrick. She refused to become hysterical. She tried to watch it as calmly as she could. She tried to keep her emotions in check. She was British. But when Patrick was almost to the car, she snapped.

"No! Ms. Skouris, please don't take him. He's a bit wonky in the head, I know. But he doesn't understand what happened to him. He doesn't understand my mother's dead. He loved her so much; he can't deal with it. He thinks she's alive. Don't take that away from him. Don't take him away from me again. Please."

Diana's heart broke at the pleas. Delainia sounded so lost and sad, but they had to do it. They had to take this murderer off the street, even if she was sympathetic towards his family. There could be no preferential treatment for the family. Diana shook her head and she put Patrick in the back of it.

"Don't worry, Little Laini. They just have to do this to ask me some questions. I'll be home before your mother gets back. Don't worry, Little One. Don't worry. I love you."

Delainia's eyes began to water, but she wouldn't let the tears drop. She pushed her hair behind her ears and nodded at Patrick.

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Patrick sat in the car and Diana locked the door. She glanced back at Delainia, her face showing the sadness inside of her.

"I truly am sorry, Delainia." Diana waited a beat. "Come on, Tom. We need to get back to Home Sec."

Tom walked by Shawn and Delainia, a sheepish confused look still on his face. He got in the car like an obedient puppy and Diana drove away after she got in and started the car.

Delainia turned to look up at Shawn. "I knew something bad was going to happen today. I'm so glad I wasn't disappointed."

Shawn lifted his hand to gently caress her cheek. He brushed his lips over her forehead and then made sure she was looking at him.

"It will be okay, Delainia. I promise."

She shook her head before burying her head in Shawn's chest. "It'll never be okay, Shawn. It hasn't been in a long time."


	8. Confusion

**_Declining Grace_**

**_Chapter Eight_**

**_Confusion_**

Delainia stood in Shawn's arms for a few more moments before her mind began to race. She had to get her father away from Homeland Security before Kaleen got home from school…or at least come up with a plausible lie for why their father wouldn't be back home for awhile. How could she tell her baby sister that their father was arrested for doing something horrible – what, she didn't know - but she knew it was bad. Diana and Tom had said as much. She had to find a way to protect her sister. Kaleen had already been through too much. She didn't need to add this stress to the list.

"What do I do, Shawn? What do I tell Kaleen? Should I go to the offices now and find out what the charges are against my father? Do I wait for Kaleen to get home? Should have I have her stay with Maia this afternoon?" Delainia's voice cracked in exhaustion, "I'm so sick of trying to make the decisions all the time. I'm so tired of this all happening…I'm sorry. I shouldn't be complaining to you. It's not like your life is all sunshine and rainbows."

"Never apologize for telling me how you feel, Delainia. Not after what just happened here. Why don't I take you somewhere so you can think? I know the perfect place."

Delainia sighed as she contemplated running away from all this. Shawn stood eagerly next to her, his face earnest in his desire to help absolve the pain she was feeling. Finally she nodded. "Only for a few minutes. Then we have to focus on my current problem." Shawn wrapped a gentle arm around her waist and led her to his newly repainted car. Delainia smiled at him slightly when she slid in the front seat. "I can't wait until we have to deal with your problems."

Shawn laughed as he walked around to the other side of the car. "Baby, there are not enough days in a year to cover all my issues."

Delainia's eyes scanned the mountains in front of her. She recognized the scene from the pictures and the coverage on the news. They were at Mt. Renier. The place where her father had returned, along with the other 4, 399 disappeared. She was disturbed to see it up close, disturbed to see the place that had brought about the topsy-turvy occurrences to her life after she had just started to put it back together. She didn't want to be here and she was surprised Shawn wanted to be here as well. Why would he want to come back to the place that had thrust a new life upon him?

"Why did you bring me here, Shawn?"

"You recognize the place, then. You know where we are."

"Mt. Renier. I would have had to be living under a rock not to recognize this place."

"It comforts me when I come here when I'm –"he paused, searching for the right word, "in need of escaping reality. Coming here gives me this sort of ethereal calm, knowing that there are other people out there, affected by what happened. I'm not alone. Being here reminds me of that."

Shawn's lowered his brown eyes to Delainia, to see what she thought of her theory. She seemed almost upset by being there, which had never been his intention. He had brought her here so she could find the same comfort that he did. Sure, she wasn't a 4400, but she'd been just as affected by the whole situation as he had been. It didn't matter that she hadn't disappeared.

"I guess it doesn't make much sense, Delainia. I was just trying to explain to you what it's like to be in my shoes, in a 4400's. And while you're not one, you might as well have been. You're life's been ruined by it just like mine, and that little girl your sister is friends with, and your father. I'm just trying to help. But it doesn't look like it helped much."

"It's not that, Shawn. I just feel so lost. Being here makes me feel like I'm in a fishbowl and it's like they're up there laughing at what they've done. Whoever they are. I feel like I'm just stuck here, wandering around, muddling through, and I'll never get to move past my father's disappearance or return or his powers and whatever. I'm just going to be left wondering what to do, how to raise Kaleen without hurting us both."

Shawn stood next to her, his feet at the edge of the lake. The lake was calm, no motion, no animals or sea life. It was still. Delainia brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and wished for some kind of breeze to relieve the stillness of the scene. It was almost unnerving to be there with no one else but Shawn. Shawn slid his hand down and squeezed Delainia's. She sighed and looked up at him.

"I know he's sick, Shawn, but I know he can get better. He just needs more time to adjust. He was so in love with my mom, he just hasn't been able to accept that he's gone. You can't blame him for loving her. He just needs time. Just time."

Shawn nodded, trying to understand what Delainia believed. It was obvious to him that if Tom had arrested Patrick, there was a good reason for it. He didn't think his uncle would just randomly arrest people, no matter what his differences with Tom were. There had to be a reason that they took Patrick into custody, and while they weren't aware of what it was, it must be bad. But to Delainia, her father, the man who loved her no matter what, was being jerked away from her just as he had been years ago when she was a child. A lot of responsibilities were left on her shoulders, caring for Kaleen (not that it was a new responsibility) and trying to protect her father from whatever it was he had done. She didn't need any more problems with him doubting what she said about her father.

"I know how hard this has been on you and your sister. But we have to deal with this somehow. Now let's go down to the Security offices and talk to my uncle. He'll be able to tell us more. We'll find out what's happening then."

Delainia nodded. She took a deep breath and allowed the mountain air to wash inside of her. She tried to smile at him as she slid into his arms for a hug.

"You're right. This place is strangely comforting."

"I think they meant for it to be that way. I think that's why they picked this place to gift wrap us for the world."

Delainia accepted his explanation, as incredulous as it was. She pulled away from him and walked slowly back to the car without waiting for him to catch up with her.

Patrick Grace shifted in his chair uncomfortably. It was aluminum steel. Why anyone would make a chair out of such cold, hard material was beyond him. Even worse was the reason he was sitting in it. No one had come in yet to explain to him what was going on. They'd mentioned something about Coral being dead and then mentioned several other women that had been killed across the country. Bloody Americans didn't know what they were talking about, not that they would help link him and Coral to those women. He couldn't understand why they kept talking about them. Kept sliding pictures of these women to him under the door, there faces peaceful and cold in death. He didn't know why he could only hear a booming voice over the intercom, like the person believed they were some higher being, as they spoke condescendingly to him over the speaker. He didn't know why they wouldn't just come in the room and talk to him. Did the speaker think the intercom empowered him? All Patrick wanted was to go home to his wife and daughter. He wanted to be someplace happy and warm, hear Laini's laughter as Coral told knock-knock jokes to her. But they wouldn't even tell him if Laini was okay or if Coral had been notified. They just kept taunting him about Coral being dead.

He could feel his anger starting to boil. They refused him proper explanation or representation. They talked about Coral as if she'd died long ago and Delainia was all grown up, which he knew wasn't true. He felt as if he'd been tossed into some sort of nightmarish insane asylum, in fact, he probably had been. That was the only way to rationalize what they were telling him. He didn't know why anyone would try to make him believe such things about his precious family. But there was a pang in the back of his head, words from Delainia about a little girl named Kaleen that was his. One that was Laini's own age, but Delainia had sounded so mature when she'd said it. Not at all like the little girl he saw in his mind.

Patrick gripped the arm rests until his knuckles turned white. He couldn't fathom what was happening to him and he wasn't so sure he wanted to. He looked at the Styrofoam cup the woman named Diana had brought him. He gulped the water and continued to stare into space. He would never figure this out and he was pretty sure he was ready to quit trying.

Tom rubbed his temples with his fingers. There was no relaxing the pounding in his head, a possible side effect of whatever Grace had done to him. He didn't regret going in like he did. They'd captured him and they had proof of what he did. Now they could hold him legally and keep him safe, as well as the civilians outside the Security walls. Diana was pacing again in his office and the movements were not helping his own headache.

"Diana! Stop! You're making me nauseous. And believe me; I don't need any more help in that area. Grace did enough for me in that arena."

Diana slowed in front of his desk and propped herself up against it. She didn't apologize for her nervous habit, though she did explain it.

"We were right. He's been doing it. He's able to get inside people's heads and it makes me feel a little bit violated. But you talk to him and you can hardly be angry with him. He's so confused. He's truly a kind man, with the exception of the agitation that arises when we mention his family. His family is his weakness and you can't blame him for loving his daughter and wife too much."

"No, but you can blame him for kidnapping women and trying to force them to become his late wife."

"He's just lost a piece of his mind since returning."

"Is that what they wanted? To make this guy psychotic with the ability to get inside someone's mind? What kind of ripple effect is that going to make?"

"Hundreds, Tom. It's possible they want him to turn people for the 4400, instead of against them. He could make anyone support the 4400. He could bring people together; make them work as a team. If we're trying to save the future, we may need a little bit of teamwork."

"But if it only works once…"

"We don't know if it works once. We know what he does, so we were able to stop him from affecting me."

"Why didn't it infect his daughter?"

"Because they're blood related?"

"What about Shawn or the others?"

"The 4400 could be immune as well. There are 100 possibilities for this guy."

"I still don't understand the purpose of it."

"Don't worry about that. There's a lot about the 4400 we don't understand. I don't think we ever will, but we can continue to try."

Tom sighed and closed his eyes as his hands lowered to the bridge of his nose.

"How long did it take you to get rid of this dazed headache?"

"Pop some aspirin, Tom. You'll have it for a while."

Tom groaned just as his phone beeped.

"Yes, I'll come down and get them. Hold them at the front. Thanks."

Diana raised her eyebrows in interest. "Visitors?"

"Shawn and Delainia are here."

Diana nodded and followed Tom out the door to receive them.

Delainia stood outside the door, her badge shining in the fluorescent lighting. She'd talked with Shawn's uncle and Diana about her father and they'd told her what had been happening. She didn't want to be afraid of her own father, but what he'd been doing in the name of her mother made her slightly so. He was almost obsessive about their family and she'd tried to take it as dedication and confusion. But he was losing his mind. She'd let Kaleen be with him when he was losing his mind. She was responsible for protecting her little sister. Their father could have done harm to her and Delainia would have never been able to stop it. She wanted to hate her father for what he had been doing, for making her fear him and fear for her sister, but she couldn't. Not this shell of a man.

She reached for Shawn's hand before she opened the door. He had been allowed to take her as far as the door, but after that she had to go in by herself. They were putting her father in isolation to stop people from coming into contact with him. The fewer people who talked with him, the safer everyone would be. She tried to take a deep breath, tried to find her courage, but she just couldn't. She looked up at Shawn, her eyes connecting with his, and pain washed over her. His eyes were so gentle, so sweet and kind, as he tried to absorb what she was feeling that she could barely handle it. She hadn't had anyone look at her that way in a very long time. It made her feel safe and vulnerable all at once, but she wouldn't trade it in for anything. She leaned up and kissed him softly before twisting the knob and entering the room. Shawn stepped back to watch the exchange through the pane of glass while trying to shake the feeling of invading Delainia's privacy in watching.


	9. Never Return

**_Declining Grace  
Chapter Nine  
Never Return_**

Delainia stood in front of her father, waiting for him to acknowledge her. He seemed not to notice she was even there, despite her location. She stared at him for several moments before deciding what to do.

"Daddy?" Her voice broke the eerie silence of the room. Delainia didn't realize how defeated she sounded when she whispered that one word to the man. Shawn heard it, though, from behind the two-sided mirror where he watched the exchange.

Patrick looked up at her, but he didn't really see her. Delainia knew that. He hadn't really seen her since he'd returned. He blinked once or twice, and she saw how broken he was. She couldn't overlook it the way she had before. She wished desperately she could; she wished she could see her father, dancing in the flat with her mother while she looked on and hoped she'd find a prince just like her daddy. But the illusion was gone. Her father was gone.

"Laini? Is that you?"

"Yes, Daddy. It's me."

His eyes lit with a radiance that had long been lost since he'd been taken back into Homeland Security custody.

"They let you in here. I'm so glad they let you come, Laini. I'm so sorry you have to see me like this. You're my little girl and you shouldn't have to. But I'm so glad you're here, darling girl."

Delainia's eyes misted at the tone in his voice. He sounded so distressed, but there was nothing she could do to soothe it.

"Now where is your mother? Is she bailing me out of this blasted place?"

Delainia kneeled before her father's chair and took his hands in hers. She squeezed them while she tried to calm herself enough to speak. She took several deep breaths, allowing the oxygen to spread over her.

"Daddy, Mum died a while ago. I've told you before. She died while you were away. She contracted leukemia, and nothing we did saved her. She left Kaleen and me behind. Kaleen's your other daughter. I introduced you to her. Please remember, Daddy."

Patrick stared at Delainia like she was the one that was crazy, not the other way around. But Delainia could see the recognition in his eyes. He could understand what she was saying and part of her though he was starting to believe her. She hoped so. She hoped there was some way to get through to him.

Patrick started to shake his head. How could Delainia take a part in this game the police wanted to play with him? She was his little girl and she was feeding him the same lies the detectives were. How could she do that to him? She wouldn't do that. She wouldn't. He watched her and saw an older girl, an older Delainia, but just as fast the image was gone. But he still wondered if Delainia was telling the truth. If she was, the condescending voice could be telling the truth as well. About everything. The women. Coral. Delainia. No. That couldn't be possible. He couldn't have hurt those women. He would never hurt a woman. Ever. Panic shot through him and he couldn't stop tears from welling in his eyes. He no longer thought about appearances, only of what could possibly be true.

Delainia tried to think of a way to alleviate some of the pain her father was feeling as she watched several emotions fall over his features. She had to help him.

"She never believed you abandoned her, Daddy, not even when everyone else said it. She loved you until the day she died. She believed in you."

Patrick struggled in the chair, wanting to jump to his feet and shake her for saying those things and hug her all at once.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy."

"I love you, Laini. I love my family." He repeated the last phrase several times, as if a personal mantra that helped calm his troubled mind. Delainia rose to her feet so she could embrace her father. She felt him crying in her shoulder and she soon began to cry as well. The wounds on the Grace family were deep, thanks to whoever had taken Patrick, and it would be a long time before any of them were healed.

Delainia pulled away from him and stared into his eyes. She couldn't remember a time she'd seen him more aware. She had to take advantage of it. She had to know why he had done what he'd done.

"Why did you do it? Why did you take those women, Daddy?"

He shook his head, refusing to answer. He started to fall back into his mind; saw Coral with her brown hair tied back in a low ponytail, her blue eyes sparkling with love for him as she outstretched her arms for him, beckoning him to come back to her. His demeanor changed almost instantly. He slumped back down into his chair and his eyes held an odd glitter to them. Delainia stepped away from him, suddenly afraid of what she saw.

"Daddy? Daddy? Answer me, please. I need to know. I have to know. Please."

She was back on her knees, almost begging. But he didn't see her anymore. He didn't want to see her. She stared at her father blankly, all emotion flowing out of her. He turned to the mirror and in his mind, he saw Coral there.

"Darling, I've missed you so much. I'm sorry I had to go away, but I promise it won't happen again, Coral. I'm here to stay."

Delainia didn't know what to do. Her tears were gone, dried up, and all that was left was the dry feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was never going to get her father back. He was lost to everyone. He had his world and he likely wasn't going to leave it. She jumped to her feet, turned on her heel and fled to the door. She pounded on the door with all the anger she felt to let the guard know that she was ready to leave. She turned back to see her father one more time. He had a curious smile on his face as he held some imaginary conversation with his late wife, but she only saw her father in him.

"I love you, Daddy."

She slipped into the hallway as soon as the door was opened and she fled the room.

The silence in Shawn's car was deafening. Delainia seemed unable to form words after everything that Tom and Diana had told her after her visit with her father. Shawn couldn't really blame Delainia for the silent treatment. He had watched her with her father. He had seen how much the man loved Delainia and how badly it hurt Delainia to see him like that. Nothing would be able to stop the pain she was feeling. No one could even relate to what she was going through, not even him, a 4400. Another wave of bitterness rose inside of him as he cursed the people who had sent them back. After all they had done, taken them from their loved ones, they had to give powers that harmed more than helped, and left them broken and without explanation. He hated whoever had done this to him, but he would never be able to see them face-to-face to curse them for what they had done. Didn't they know that they had played with people's lives, ruined them? Did they know what would happen?

Shawn took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at Delainia. Her hair fell in her face, blocking the emotion on her features. He wished he could see what she was feeling so he could help heal her, even if it was just for a few moments. But she wouldn't let him see her. She couldn't let him see her. She was afraid to.

"What are you going to do now, Delainia?"

"Do what I've always done. Take care of Kaleen. Go to school. Try to forget what he's done."

"Is that going to work?"

"You heard what Diana said. He won't be out for a long time. He's hurt people, killed them, and he has the capacity to do it again. He doesn't know what he's doing and he's dangerous. They have to keep him locked up. For everyone's safety. What if he turned on Kaleen?"

"He wouldn't turn on his family. That's why he did everything he did. For family."

"He doesn't accept Kaleen as part of that. And I'll do whatever I have to just so she'll be safe. She needs me to protect her."

"Who's going to protect you, Delainia?"

Shawn pulled into Delainia's driveway and shut off the engine. He unfastened his seatbelt before turning to face her. Delainia seemed to be at a loss for words. She'd never really thought about it. There wasn't anyone to keep her safe, not since her mother died. When her father had returned, she had hoped so much that the burden would be lifted, hoped that she would have someone to lean on again. But that hadn't worked as she had planned. Nothing ever did.

"I don't need protecting, Shawn. I stopped needing it along time ago. You learn to deal with things as they come. You should know that. You've had to deal with as much as I have."

"And I've had people to help me; Nikki, my mom, even you. But you haven't had anyone."

"I've had you lately…when you're not so incorrigible that I can't stand talking to you."

Shawn sent her a small smile and tried to get her to smile in return. But she didn't. He wondered if he'd see her smile again. She was so sad now, all the time. Maybe she always had been and he hadn't realized it until now.

"You do have me, Delainia. You will. Anytime you need me."

"I've seen that. I think that maybe my earlier judgments about you were a little off the mark."

"Just a little?"

"Well, I was right about you being cute."

Shawn pulled her to him, pressing his mouth to hers. The kiss was gentle and kind, more of a comfort to her than being full of lust. Delainia allowed herself a brief moment to fall into it, to let herself a moment's peace before she pulled away from him. Shawn's hand cupped her cheek and she sat in the car for a moment, just staring at him.

"Thank you."

Shawn nodded, the only movement left in the car. He was afraid that if he spoke, the spell would be broken. Unfortunately, it still was.

"Kaleen will be here any minute. Diana said she would drop her off. I need to tell her about Dad. Explain things."

"Do you want me to stay and help you?"

"No. I think this is something I need to do by myself. It'll be easier if it's just me talking to her."

"Whatever you need. You know, Delainia, this is all going to turn out okay. You'll be okay."

Delainia tried to smile for him, but inside she knew his words were lies. Things wouldn't be okay. But she would be able to live with them. Especially if Shawn stuck around. He might even make things seem okay for a few hours. She leaned in and kissed Shawn one more time before she got out of the car and headed into the house. It was time to talk to Kaleen. She just had to figure out what to say.

Delainia heard the door slam and she braced herself for Kaleen's appearance. Her sister ran into the room straight into Delainia's arms. Delainia held Kaleen tightly, her hands stroking the little girl's back, her mind wandering. She pulled away from Kaleen and looked at her. Her eyes softened at the sight of her sister.

"I've got to talk to you, baby girl."

"I know. Maia told me you had bad news to give me."

Delainia sighed and muttered to herself, "I don't imagine she explained everything to you as well."

Kaleen heard it, but chose to ignore the tone it was said in. "No, she didn't, but she did tell me that everything was going to turn out okay. And you know Maia is always right."

Delainia wished that she could have faith in Kaleen's friend, but she couldn't quite trust the psychic. Not because she thought Maia was lying to them, but because Delainia had stopped hoping things would be okay a long time ago.

"She seems to be, doesn't she? Now Kaleen, what I have to tell you is very serious, but it isn't your fault in any way. Neither of us have anything to do with what happened. I don't even think it's our father's fault."

"He did something bad?" Kaleen's eyes were wide and trusting and Delainia hated herself for having to take another piece of Kaleen's innocence away from her. It seemed that all Delainia got to share with her sister was pain and suffering.

"He did something very bad. You know I've told you that he hasn't been himself, that's he's been sick since he came back."

Kaleen nodded solemnly. That had been all Delainia had told her since Patrick's return. That what he did wasn't because of her at all, but because of him being taken by the others. She had tried to believe that, had to believe it because she'd never even met her father until he'd returned. But sometimes she wondered if it was her fault he was the way he was.

"Well, he missed Mum quite a lot. He didn't want to believe that she had died."

"Kind of like I didn't want to believe it?"

"Yes, exactly like that. He loved Mum a whole lot and when he came back and she was gone, his heart was broken, as was his mind. He wanted to recapture our family…our family before he left."

Kaleen nodded again, not sure what that had to do with him doing bad things. He just wanted to have a family. She wanted that too. She had hoped for that when he'd returned. But Patrick wasn't at all the way Delainia had described him when she was little. He wasn't what either of them had thought.

"Well, trying to recapture that family, he ended up hurting some people. A lot. And because of that he has to go to prison now."

"He's going away again?"

"Yes. Homeland Security took him into custody and they're going to take care of him until he gets better, until he pays for what he did. He has to be punished, just like you do when you get in trouble."

"But he's sick. You always said that."

"I know. And they will take that into consideration. But he won't be able to come back to us for a very long time."

Kaleen curled into her sister's arms, confusion written on her face. She was an intelligent child, but there was only so much she could understand. Delainia could see it on her face and she wanted to help ease the bewilderment, but she had no idea how to do that. Delainia herself was confused and she only had Shawn to help her.

"What's going to happen to us, then, Laini?"

Delainia kissed her sister's forehead and then lifted her head so they're eyes met.

"It will be just like before Daddy came back. I still have custody of you. I will still take care of you. You're life won't change too much. Daddy just won't be here anymore. It'll be us only again. The sisters club only."

"I'll still be with you."

"Yes. And we won't move away or anything. I rather like Seattle."

"You rather like Shawn."

Delainia narrowed her eyes and playfully slapped Kaleen's arms. But instead of continuing with the joke that Kaleen made, she chose to finish reassuring Kaleen of their family.

"We'll stay here. You'll still go to school and still be friends with Maia. In fact, Ms. Skouris said you could come over to play with Maia anytime, and she'll help us out. That will be good, won't it?"

"Yes."

"So you'll be fine. We'll be fine." Delainia almost believed it when she said it.

"Maia told me everything would be okay, remember?"

Delainia hugged Kaleen tightly. Maybe it would be all right. Just maybe. With Diana's help in caring for Kaleen, she wouldn't have so much to worry about. And Shawn would be there for her. He'd shown that. And she would try to be there for him as well. She'd sort of found herself a family while living in Seattle. They weren't blood, but they would be good enough. At least until her father was healed.

"Will I have to go see him?"

"No, you won't have to if you don't want to. It may be best if we wait for him to see you anyway."

"Because he doesn't remember me."

"Yes. He will one day. He just needs time."

"I can wait. I have you."

Kaleen settled herself in Delainia's lap, her head resting on Delainia's shoulder.

"You will always have me. I love you, kid."

"I love you, too, Laini."

Delainia was content to hold her sister in place, while her mind raced. Things would go back to the way they were with her father in custody. They had gotten used to it being the two of them against the world and it would go back to that again. It wouldn't be so bad, after all. It would just be like he'd never returned. Until he remembered everything. Then the world would be topsy-turvy all over again. But until then she would give Kaleen a semi-normal, stable life. And they would try to be happy. As they had been before.

THE END!


End file.
